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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: roll · trunk · fan · spring · wax · cell · current · march

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — of water
  4. march — music
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. current — happening now
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. spring — the season
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — in biology
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. roll — a cake
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. current — of water
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. current — electric
  22. march — the month
  23. roll — a list
  24. wax — to grow

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