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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bass — low music
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. branch — a division
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. march — music
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. march — the month
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bass — the fish
  24. dip — a sauce

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