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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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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: kid · pitcher · bank · wave · cell · ball · fine · branch

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fine — all right
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bank — for money
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bank — of a river
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. cell — a phone
  11. branch — a division
  12. fine — high quality
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — child
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bank — for money

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