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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: bay · charge · root · cold · field · wax · bear · branch

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bear — the animal
  4. charge — a price
  5. root — the cause
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cold — an illness
  8. branch — a division
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. charge — electricity
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bear — the animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. field — farmland
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. field — for sport
  21. charge — in control
  22. root — of a word
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — of a bank

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