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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fine — all right
  4. branch — a division
  5. content — happy
  6. cap — of ice
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wax — to grow
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chip — for betting
  16. mine — for digging
  17. content — the amount
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. chip — to eat
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cap — a lid
  22. kid — child
  23. fine — high quality
  24. mine — an explosive

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