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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · branch · net · rest · spring · wax · kid · saw

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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 — of water
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kid — child
  5. rest — a break
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. spring — a coil
  8. net — after costs
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. net — for catching
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. spring — the season
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. saw — the tool
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. branch — a division
  22. net — in sport
  23. saw — the tool
  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