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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: kid · suit · field · wax · branch · tear · snap · track

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. suit — in cards
  3. branch — a division
  4. suit — clothes
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wax — to grow
  7. field — for sport
  8. track — a path
  9. snap — to click
  10. kid — child
  11. field — a subject
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. kid — to tease
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. field — farmland
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. suit — to fit
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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