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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · band · race · wax · fan · cell · branch · degree

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. race — a contest
  4. band — a music group
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — from a university
  9. can — a tin
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. race — humankind
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. branch — a division
  15. degree — temperature
  16. race — the arms race
  17. band — a ring
  18. can — to be able to
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. can — a tin
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wax — in the ear

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