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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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Word bank
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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: chip · dip · game · branch · cold · stand · rush · wave

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. rush — hurry
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. chip — to eat
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. dip — to sink
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. wave — of the sea

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