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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mate — to breed
  4. file — a tool
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. root — of a plant
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a grade
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. file — a document
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. wax — to grow
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a word
  24. wax — for sculpting

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