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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. scale — size or range
  4. land — a country
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. scale — in music
  9. ground — the earth
  10. branch — a division
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wax — to grow
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. ground — a position
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. snap — to click
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. row — a line
  24. scale — for weighing

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