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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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. chest — of your body
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. track — a path
  7. face — to confront
  8. craft — boats
  9. face — to point toward
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — to keep track
  12. march — music
  13. track — a song
  14. chest — of your body
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. face — part of the head
  17. branch — a division
  18. band — a ring
  19. chest — a box
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. craft — a skill
  24. band — a music group

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