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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: wound · swing · pop · stem · wax · perch · snap · current

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. current — happening now
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wax — to grow
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pop — soda
  8. wound — an injury
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. snap — to click
  11. swing — music
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. pop — to visit
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wound — an injury
  16. current — electric
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pop — music
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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