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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wax — to grow
  3. scale — in music
  4. squash — to crush
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. craft — boats
  10. saw — the tool
  11. scale — size or range
  12. last — to go on
  13. craft — a skill
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. last — final
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. squash — the sport
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. branch — a division
  24. last — finally

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