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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: pit · wave · wind · sharp · stick · branch · pop · bat

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pop — soda
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pop — to visit
  9. sharp — clever
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. branch — a division
  19. pop — music
  20. pit — a hole
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pit — in a race

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