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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 116 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: bat · dip · wave · branch · squash · trunk · fan · ground

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. ground — crushed
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. ground — a position
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. squash — to crush
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. ground — the earth
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. dip — to sink
  16. squash — the sport
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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