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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: bat · cabinet · face · saw · rash · branch · wax · prune

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. branch — a division
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bat — the animal
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. face — part of the head
  16. saw — the tool
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rash — a series
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. face — to confront
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cabinet — ministers

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