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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: current · hand · stem · land · pop · cap · temple · wax

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cap — a lid
  7. current — happening now
  8. land — a country
  9. current — electric
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cap — a hat
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. pop — to visit
  15. current — of water
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wax — to grow
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pop — soda
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. stem — to come from
  24. hand — help

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