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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 120 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: kid · bear · pass · wave · chest · game · branch · trunk

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. chest — of your body
  3. game — wild animals
  4. kid — to tease
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. chest — a box
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pass — a permit
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. game — a match
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. kid — child
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. chest — of your body

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