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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — ground
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — an illness
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pass — a permit
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. land — to come down

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