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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a dance
  5. branch — a division
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. perch — the fish
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitcher — a jug

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