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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. ground — crushed
  3. march — music
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. march — the month
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cell — a phone
  13. ground — a position
  14. wound — an injury
  15. branch — a division
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wound — an injury
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. march — the month
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ground — the earth
  24. branch — of a tree

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