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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: capital · branch · mouse · wax · prune · cell · march · deal

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — money
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. deal — to handle
  7. march — music
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. capital — a city
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. march — the month
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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