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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: bat · wax · chair · snap · track · cold · branch · bore

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. track — a path
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. branch — a division
  10. wax — to grow
  11. track — a song
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cold — not warm
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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