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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wax — to grow
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. spring — the season
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spring — a coil
  14. branch — a division
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. spring — of water
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. craft — boats
  19. file — a tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. file — a document

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