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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. branch — a division
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. pound — a weight
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wax — to grow
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. game — a match
  24. bowl — a dish

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