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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wax — to grow
  7. march — the month
  8. tube — a container
  9. branch — a division
  10. board — a committee
  11. march — the month
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. game — wild animals
  22. board — to get on
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. game — a match

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