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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. track — a path
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. track — to keep track
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tear — to rip
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. roll — a cake
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. roll — a list
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. branch — a division
  24. track — a song

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