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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: wax · hand · bay · arm · root · court · branch · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wax — to grow
  3. root — of a word
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. hand — help
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. court — for sport
  11. root — the cause
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. hand — in cards
  15. branch — a division
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. root — of a plant
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. arm — a part of something

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