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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bass — low music
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bass — the fish
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. branch — a division
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. scale — in music
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bound — tied together

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