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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: wake · perch · branch · bulb · cold · cell · wave · board

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. board — a committee
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. branch — a division
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wake — a trail
  11. board — to get on
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. bulb — for light
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — an illness
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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