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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: game · face · rock · wax · ball · roll · branch · date

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. date — the fruit
  5. game — a match
  6. face — to confront
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. face — part of the head
  14. ball — a dance
  15. branch — a division
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rock — a stone
  18. ball — a great time
  19. face — to point toward
  20. game — wild animals
  21. roll — a cake
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wax — to grow
  24. roll — a list

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