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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: wax · wound · rest · foot · branch · deal · staff · cold

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. branch — a division
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. rest — a break
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — not warm
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. rest — what's left
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wax — to grow
  20. rest — what's left
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. foot — a measure
  24. cold — an illness

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