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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. ground — a position
  6. cap — a lid
  7. chest — a box
  8. bound — certain
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wax — to grow
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bound — obliged
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — the tool
  18. branch — a division
  19. cap — of ice
  20. drill — army training
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bound — tied together
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. branch — of a tree

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