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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: pop · snap · fan · field · capital · wave · row · branch

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. branch — a division
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. capital — money
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pop — music
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pop — to visit
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. capital — a city
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. field — for sport
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. row — a line
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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