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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: wax · calf · row · field · chest · branch · lie · fan

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wax — to grow
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lie — to recline
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. chest — a box
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — of your body
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. branch — of a bank
  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