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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 116 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: band · spell · snap · branch · mine · rule · wave · cold

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mine — for digging
  9. band — a music group
  10. rule — government
  11. branch — a division
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spell — letters
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spell — a short time
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rule — a law
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. spell — magic
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. snap — to click
  24. band — a ring

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