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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: court · saw · hide · bank · cold · branch · net · wax

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. net — in sport
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. court — for sport
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. court — of law
  15. bank — of a river
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. court — of a king
  20. branch — a division
  21. bank — for money
  22. wax — to grow
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bank — for money

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