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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. board — a committee
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. capital — a city
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bass — low music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wax — to grow
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. board — to get on
  17. capital — money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wind — moving air
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. wind — to turn a key

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