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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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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: branch · wake · arm · shower · content · wax · rush · band

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a ring
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. band — a music group
  10. wake — a trail
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. content — the amount
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wax — to grow
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. rush — hurry

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