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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: drill · ground · branch · cold · jam · fine · season · wax

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. branch — a division
  3. drill — the tool
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fine — all right
  10. ground — a position
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. drill — a practice
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. wax — to grow
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fine — high quality
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cold — not warm
  24. drill — army training

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