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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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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: ruler · shower · mate · cap · branch · pound · net · wax

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. branch — a division
  7. net — in sport
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cap — a hat
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. net — for catching
  15. shower — rain
  16. mate — to breed
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. cap — a lid
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pound — to hit hard

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