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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bear — the animal
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. clip — a video
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. ground — a position
  22. branch — a division
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bear — the animal

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