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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. net — after costs
  4. bound — tied together
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wax — to grow
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. branch — a division
  10. net — in sport
  11. bound — certain
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. land — to come down
  15. bound — obliged
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. net — for catching
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. field — a subject
  23. toast — bread
  24. land — a country

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