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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: kick · ball · band · branch · rush · wax · file · wound

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. ball — a great time
  5. branch — a division
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. file — a document
  8. band — a ring
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. kick — in football
  20. band — a music group
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rush — hurry

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