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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 116 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: wax · kid · file · branch · pitch · row · content · bay

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. content — the amount
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. file — a tool
  6. branch — a division
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pitch — completely
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — to tease
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. row — a line
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. content — happy
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wax — in the ear

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