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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fine — high quality
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kid — child
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fine — all right
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. season — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. season — of the year

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