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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: bark · bat · pitcher · wax · cell · board · branch · pass

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. board — a committee
  16. pass — a permit
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bat — the animal
  19. branch — a division
  20. board — to get on
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bark — of a tree

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