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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: wax · tube · net · spring · staff · cold · bass · bank

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. net — after costs
  3. wax — to grow
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. staff — employees
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. net — for catching
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. spring — of water
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bass — low music
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bank — for money
  19. staff — employees
  20. cold — not warm
  21. net — in sport
  22. tube — a container
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bank — of a river

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