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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 120 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chair — a leader
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. game — a match
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bass — low music
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. can — to be able to
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. sharp — clever
  14. can — a tin
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bass — the fish
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chest — a box
  19. can — a tin
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wax — to grow

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