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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. craft — boats
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. race — a contest
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. craft — a skill
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. race — humankind
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. board — to get on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. board — a committee
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wax — to grow
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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