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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. wax — to grow
  4. band — a music group
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mug — to rob
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. branch — a division
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. hand — help
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. snap — to click
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mug — a cup
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. hand — in cards
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mug — a face
  24. band — a ring

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