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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 · jam · club · row · plane · wound · cold · branch

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. cold — not warm
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. row — a line
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. row — to paddle
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. branch — a division
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. club — for golf
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — an illness

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