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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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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 · stem · wax · race · branch · bowl · rule · calf

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. rule — a law
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. branch — a division
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ball — a great time
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — humankind
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rule — government
  16. ball — a dance
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. race — a contest

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