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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: bear · cold · stand · rash · wave · trunk · branch · pound

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bear — the animal
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cold — an illness
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cold — not warm
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. pound — a weight
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. branch — a division
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. stand — to bear

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