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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. net — for catching
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bank — of a river
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cap — a hat
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. game — a match
  11. bank — for money
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cap — of ice
  14. chest — a box
  15. net — in sport
  16. branch — a division
  17. bank — for money
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — after costs
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wax — in the ear

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