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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: lean · mark · rock · chest · shower · wax · rash · branch

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rash — hasty
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. branch — a division
  8. chest — a box
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. shower — rain
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rash — a series
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. wax — to grow
  24. branch — of a tree

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