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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: row · band · branch · fan · pitch · wax · stem · squash

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pitch — completely
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a ring
  10. squash — to crush
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. row — a line
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wax — to grow
  20. squash — the sport
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. squash — the vegetable

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