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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. last — final
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. drill — army training
  8. last — finally
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wax — to grow
  11. last — to go on
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mark — a trace
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mark — a grade
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. hand — help
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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