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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: wave · fall · hide · branch · band · spell · wind · kick

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. spell — letters
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. branch — a division
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. band — a music group
  15. kick — in football
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. spell — magic
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. fall — the season
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fall — to drop
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. band — a ring

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