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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · wound · bowl · branch · wax · fall

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fall — the season
  3. wax — to grow
  4. branch — a division
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wound — an injury
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bowl — to roll

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