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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 · kick · bound · wind · temple · wave · deal · spring

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bound — certain
  6. wind — moving air
  7. deal — to handle
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. spring — of water
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bound — obliged
  17. branch — a division
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. kick — in football
  23. spring — the season
  24. deal — an agreement

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