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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. branch — a division
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bark — to shout
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cell — a phone
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wax — to grow
  19. key — in music
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. key — for a lock
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cell — in biology

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