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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: branch · sharp · race · wax · bat · temple · pound · land

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wax — to grow
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. sharp — clever
  15. land — to come down
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. land — a country
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. branch — a division
  24. land — ground

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