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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wax — to grow
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. race — humankind
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. race — the arms race
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. branch — a division
  16. mate — a friend
  17. race — a contest
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rash — a series
  20. plane — a tool
  21. mate — a partner
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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