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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · ball · branch · wave · chest · stock · cell · wax

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — goods
  5. march — the month
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cell — a phone
  8. march — the month
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. ball — a dance
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. chest — a box
  13. march — music
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. stock — shares
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. branch — a division
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wax — for sculpting

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