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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: cell · wax · band · rest · branch · wind

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rest — a break
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wax — to grow
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. band — a music group
  16. branch — a division
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rest — what's left

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