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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · wax · calf · cell · branch · wound · kid · ground

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wound — an injury
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cell — a phone
  11. branch — a division
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. ground — a position
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wound — an injury

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