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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. branch — a division
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. clip — for paper
  7. court — of law
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. court — for sport
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. clip — to cut
  17. court — of a king
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. clip — a video
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. chair — a leader

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