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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. content — the amount
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. season — of the year
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — to grow
  16. content — happy
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. ground — a position
  19. hand — help
  20. branch — a division
  21. clip — for paper
  22. ground — the earth
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — to cut

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