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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — a match
  12. swing — music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stand — to bear
  15. game — wild animals
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stock — shares
  20. swing — to play on
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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