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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 120 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. branch — a division
  4. land — ground
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wax — to grow
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. kid — child
  11. scale — size or range
  12. season — of the year
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. land — to come down
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. land — a country
  20. season — in sport
  21. scale — in music
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bay — a horse colour
  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