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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: lash · straw · pass · current · wound · branch · wave · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. pass — a permit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. current — of water
  11. wound — an injury
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. branch — a division
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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