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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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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: branch · bear · kick · land · coach · wax · deal · snap

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. snap — to click
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. land — to come down
  7. deal — to handle
  8. land — a country
  9. kick — in football
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. land — ground
  15. bear — the animal
  16. branch — a division
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bear — the animal
  24. branch — of a bank

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