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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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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: sharp · hand · spring · bass · wax · branch · rule · calf

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. spring — of water
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hand — help
  10. sharp — clever
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spring — the season
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. wax — to grow
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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