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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: cold · chest · wax · rest · squash · branch · toast · rock

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rock — a stone
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. wax — to grow
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. cold — not warm
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rock — music
  11. chest — a box
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rest — a break
  21. branch — a division
  22. chest — of your body
  23. squash — to crush
  24. toast — bread

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