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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: tear · scale · nail · net · branch · fall · wax · cold

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. cold — an illness
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fall — to drop
  7. net — after costs
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. net — in sport
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — to grow
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cold — not warm
  16. branch — a division
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. scale — in music
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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