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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. court — for sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. land — a country
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. shower — rain
  10. face — to point toward
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. land — to come down
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. face — to confront
  16. land — ground
  17. shower — to wash
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. wax — to grow
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. branch — a division

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