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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. mate — a partner
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mate — to breed
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. spring — the season
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pop — music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. spring — of water
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. club — for golf
  17. cap — a lid
  18. branch — a division
  19. club — a group
  20. pop — soda
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pop — to visit

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