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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: bass · snap · deal · sharp · cold · rash · branch · wax

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. snap — to click
  14. cold — not warm
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rash — hasty
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cold — an illness
  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