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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 116 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. band — a ring
  3. kid — child
  4. present — a gift
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mark — a trace
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. race — the arms race
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. race — a contest
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. race — humankind
  13. present — the time now
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. branch — a division
  22. present — there
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wax — to grow

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