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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 · mark · file · object · content · spring · squash · wax

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spring — the season
  7. file — a tool
  8. spring — of water
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. spring — a coil
  11. file — a line of people
  12. squash — the sport
  13. content — happy
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. mark — a grade
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. mark — a trace
  18. object — a thing
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. object — an aim
  21. squash — to crush
  22. file — a document
  23. branch — a division
  24. content — the amount

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