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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bass — low music
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wax — to grow
  9. stock — goods
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cabinet — ministers

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