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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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. staff — employees
  5. craft — boats
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. degree — temperature
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wax — to grow
  14. degree — an amount
  15. branch — a division
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fall — the season
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. fall — to drop
  22. staff — employees
  23. chest — a box
  24. pound — a weight

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