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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. band — a music group
  4. rock — music
  5. mate — a friend
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. band — a ring
  9. court — for sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. wax — to grow
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — an illness
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mate — to breed
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. rock — a stone
  24. branch — of a tree

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