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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 120 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: row · mouse · branch · leaves · pitch · wax · cold · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. row — a line
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. branch — a division
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. cold — an illness
  23. row — to paddle
  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