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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: racket · cold · scale · branch · wax · arm · saw · fork

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. saw — the tool
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. scale — size or range
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fork — in a road
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. branch — a division
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. scale — in music
  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