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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: club · kid · staff · branch · craft · wax · band · tube

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. kid — to tease
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. staff — employees
  9. tube — the underground
  10. craft — a skill
  11. club — for golf
  12. wax — to grow
  13. branch — a division
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kid — child
  17. club — for dancing
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. tube — a container
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. club — a group
  24. branch — of a bank

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