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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: chest · branch · wax · mark · calf · stock · bear · lie

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stock — goods
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stock — shares
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wax — to grow
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bear — the animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. chest — a box
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. chest — of your body
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. mark — a grade

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