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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: ground · ball · rash · branch · wave · bat · pitcher · snap

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. branch — a division
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ground — a position
  5. rash — a series
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. snap — to click
  23. ball — a dance
  24. rash — hasty

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