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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · chest · rule · foot · vault · wave · bat · wound

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rule — a law
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chest — a box
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. branch — a division
  8. rule — government
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. vault — a safe
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. wound — an injury
  22. foot — a measure
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com