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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. season — in sport
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wax — to grow
  5. band — a music group
  6. season — of the year
  7. kid — child
  8. deal — to handle
  9. branch — a division
  10. kid — to tease
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. mark — a trace
  13. mark — a grade
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. band — a ring
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. band — a rubber band

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