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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 116 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: wax · content · bound · mate · saw · race · branch · march

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. march — music
  6. mate — a friend
  7. content — the amount
  8. race — a contest
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — the month
  12. content — happy
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bound — certain
  15. mate — a partner
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bound — obliged
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. race — the arms race
  20. march — the month
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wax — to grow
  23. branch — a division
  24. race — humankind

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