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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's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. sharp — clever
  6. rock — music
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. game — a match
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. branch — a division
  17. rock — a stone
  18. saw — the tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pitch — completely
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. scale — in music

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