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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: shower · race · bark · wax · branch · march · wake · field

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. wake — a trail
  3. shower — rain
  4. race — humankind
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wax — to grow
  9. march — the month
  10. field — for sport
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. branch — a division
  15. march — the month
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. race — a contest
  21. march — music
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bark — to shout

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