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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: track · saw · branch · wax · file · object · bat · row

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bat — the animal
  3. file — a tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. track — a song
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. track — to keep track
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. object — an aim
  12. object — to protest
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. row — to paddle
  17. object — a thing
  18. row — a line
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. file — a document
  22. track — a path
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. file — a line of people

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