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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 116 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. board — a committee
  3. cold — not warm
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. content — the amount
  9. prune — to trim
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. content — happy
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cold — an illness
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — to get on

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