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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: shower · row · scale · plane · swing · branch · wax · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. swing — music
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. swing — in golf
  9. branch — a division
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. shower — rain
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wax — to grow
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. plane — a tool
  19. scale — in music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. branch — of a bank

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