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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. march — the month
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. march — music
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. capital — money
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. branch — a division
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. spring — a coil
  17. capital — a city
  18. spring — of water
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bore — to tire
  21. spring — the season
  22. bore — to drill
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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