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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: branch · present · cold · date · foot · land · wax · spell

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wax — to grow
  4. land — a country
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. spell — letters
  9. present — the time now
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spell — magic
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cold — not warm
  15. branch — a division
  16. cold — an illness
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — a gift
  20. foot — a measure
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. present — there

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