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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. swing — in golf
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. fine — high quality
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mine — for digging
  15. fine — all right
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fine — a penalty
  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