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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: wax · fork · wind · branch · row · cue · patient · bear

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cue — a hint
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. row — a line
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cue — a signal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bear — the animal
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. branch — a division
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cue — for pool
  21. row — to paddle
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wax — for sculpting

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