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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.

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: wax · kick · sharp · branch · file · bulb · race · board

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. race — humankind
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. board — a committee
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. race — a contest
  8. board — to get on
  9. kick — in football
  10. wax — to grow
  11. file — a document
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bulb — for light
  15. race — the arms race
  16. branch — a division
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. file — a line of people
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bulb — for light
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. file — a tool

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