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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bat — the animal
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cap — a hat
  9. land — ground
  10. branch — a division
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. hand — help
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — a country
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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