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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. object — to protest
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. object — an aim
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. band — a ring
  9. bound — tied together
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. branch — a division
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a music group
  14. bound — certain
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. object — a thing
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bound — obliged
  24. ball — a dance

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