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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. chest — a box
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. drill — a practice
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. chest — of your body
  11. present — the time now
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. drill — army training
  15. mine — for digging
  16. present — a gift
  17. branch — a division
  18. wax — to grow
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. present — there
  22. chest — of your body
  23. scale — in music
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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