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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fine — all right
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. fine — high quality
  8. mark — a trace
  9. wax — to grow
  10. net — after costs
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. branch — a division
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. toast — bread
  20. mark — a grade
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. fan — to cool the air

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