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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. last — final
  5. bank — for money
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. row — a line
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bank — for money
  11. branch — a division
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cell — a phone
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bank — of a river
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. wax — to grow

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