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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. band — a music group
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bulb — for light
  14. branch — a division
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. stock — goods
  17. band — a ring
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. stock — shares
  24. wind — to turn a key

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