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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 120 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. branch — a division
  3. staff — employees
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cap — a lid
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pop — soda
  17. prune — to trim
  18. shower — rain
  19. cap — a hat
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pop — to visit
  24. shower — to wash

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