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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 124 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. snap — to click
  6. wax — to grow
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fork — in a road
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. staff — employees
  14. present — a gift
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. staff — a stick
  18. capital — a city
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. staff — employees
  22. branch — a division
  23. capital — money
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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