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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. hand — in cards
  5. branch — a division
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — in sport
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pass — a permit
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. hand — help
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — to drill
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fine — all right
  24. net — after costs

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