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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: can · club · branch · wax · fan · chest · clip · leaves

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — a video
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. chest — a box
  7. wax — to grow
  8. can — a tin
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chest — of your body
  11. club — for golf
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. club — a group
  14. chest — of your body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. clip — to cut
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. can — to be able to
  23. branch — a division
  24. wax — for sculpting

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