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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: snap · kid · bear · scale · wax · staff · branch · row

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. branch — a division
  4. staff — employees
  5. snap — to click
  6. staff — a stick
  7. scale — in music
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. row — a line
  14. bear — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. staff — employees
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. branch — of a tree

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