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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: arm · cabinet · wax · kid · root · field · fan · branch

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. branch — a division
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. root — of a word
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. field — a subject
  12. root — of a plant
  13. kid — to tease
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. root — the cause
  20. field — for sport
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wax — to grow
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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