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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 · branch · wave · cold · game · dip · bulb · swing

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pop — to visit
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pop — music
  7. game — a match
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. swing — music
  10. dip — to sink
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. branch — a division
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bulb — for light
  21. swing — to play on
  22. pop — soda
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cold — the Cold War

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