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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. clip — to cut
  3. object — a thing
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. clip — for paper
  10. object — to protest
  11. rest — what's left
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rest — a break
  14. wax — to grow
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. object — an aim
  17. rest — what's left
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. drill — the tool
  20. band — a music group
  21. clip — a video
  22. band — a ring
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — a practice

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