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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: tear · lean · wax · bank · branch · kid · court · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. kid — child
  3. net — after costs
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bank — for money
  7. branch — a division
  8. court — for sport
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bank — for money
  11. lean — to bend
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bank — of a river
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. net — for catching
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — to tease
  23. lean — thin
  24. wax — in the ear

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