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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: branch · hand · chair · ball · sharp · cold · wax · bank

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bank — of a river
  5. ball — a dance
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. branch — a division
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. sharp — clever
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. chair — a leader
  21. hand — help
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wax — in the ear

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