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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: game · sharp · kid · rest · file · stick · branch · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rest — a break
  3. file — a document
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wax — to grow
  10. branch — a division
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. sharp — clever
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. file — a line of people
  15. game — a match
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — to tease
  19. file — a tool
  20. game — wild animals
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. branch — of a tree

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