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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: hand · suit · wax · march · bark · bat · race · branch

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. suit — clothes
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bark — to shout
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bat — the animal
  10. race — a contest
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. suit — to fit
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. march — the month
  16. race — humankind
  17. hand — help
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. suit — in cards
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. hand — in cards
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wax — in the ear

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