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

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fall — the season
  7. capital — money
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. season — in sport
  14. capital — a city
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wax — to grow
  18. season — of the year
  19. branch — a division
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cell — a phone

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