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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. current — of water
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spring — of water
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. current — electric
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. spring — the season
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. current — happening now
  20. branch — a division
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bulb — for light

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