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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. band — a ring
  8. court — for sport
  9. bore — to tire
  10. object — an aim
  11. object — a thing
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. band — a music group
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. shower — to wash
  19. branch — a division
  20. mine — for digging
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. shower — rain
  24. object — to protest

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