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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: branch · prune · current · tear · press · wax · stem · chest

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — to come from
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. prune — to trim
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wax — to grow
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chest — a box
  14. current — electric
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. branch — a division
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. current — happening now
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — of water

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