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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 · wax · pit · lash · band · perch · fine · branch

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. perch — the fish
  4. band — a ring
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wax — to grow
  12. court — for sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. fine — high quality
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. court — of law
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. court — of a king
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. branch — a division

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