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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: bear · plane · lash · wake · cold · branch · bound · game

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. branch — a division
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bound — obliged
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. game — a match
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bear — the animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. plane — in geometry

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