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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. snap — to click
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. row — a line
  8. deal — to handle
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bear — the animal
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. band — a music group
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. branch — a division
  20. swing — music
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. band — a ring
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. wax — in the ear

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