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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. march — music
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chip — for betting
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bear — the animal
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to click
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. march — the month
  19. squash — the sport
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bear — the animal
  24. march — the month

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