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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. current — happening now
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. clip — for paper
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bass — the fish
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bass — low music
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. current — electric
  15. cap — a hat
  16. clip — a video
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. track — a path
  19. current — of water
  20. branch — a division
  21. cap — a lid
  22. track — to keep track
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bass — the instrument

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