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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: rest · mine · court · lie · wax · cold · branch · pitch

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. court — of law
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. court — for sport
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — a division
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rest — a break
  13. court — of a king
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitch — completely
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rest — what's left
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lie — to recline
  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