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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: ball · branch · clip · bank · wax · pitch · rock · last

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. last — finally
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bank — for money
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. clip — a video
  7. bank — of a river
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. ball — a dance
  10. rock — a stone
  11. last — to go on
  12. clip — to cut
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pitch — completely
  15. branch — a division
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bank — for money
  22. rock — music
  23. wax — to grow
  24. last — final

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