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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spring — a coil
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — farmland
  8. fine — all right
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fine — high quality
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spring — the season
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wax — to grow
  24. field — a subject

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