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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: wave · rule · bark · wound · cell · branch · track · wax

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. bark — to shout
  11. track — a path
  12. wound — an injury
  13. branch — a division
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rule — government
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rule — a law
  24. wax — to grow

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