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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 120 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: bark · deal · wax · branch · march · hand · mouse · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. bark — to shout
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. branch — a division
  18. wax — to grow
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. branch — of a tree

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