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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. scale — in music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cap — a lid
  11. kid — to tease
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. kid — child
  19. prune — to trim
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cap — a hat

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