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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mate — a friend
  8. dip — to sink
  9. mate — a partner
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bass — the fish
  13. branch — a division
  14. bank — for money
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bank — of a river
  19. mate — to breed
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bass — low music
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bank — for money

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