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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: shower · race · cue · branch · lash · band · wave · net

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. shower — to wash
  3. cue — a hint
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. cue — a signal
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. shower — rain
  9. net — after costs
  10. branch — a division
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. race — a contest
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. cue — for pool
  18. net — for catching
  19. band — a music group
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. band — a ring
  23. net — in sport
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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