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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 120 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 · branch · wind · root · scale · rest · last · spring

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. spring — of water
  3. last — finally
  4. scale — in music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. last — final
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. last — to go on
  12. spring — the season
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rest — what's left
  17. root — the cause
  18. scale — size or range
  19. rest — a break
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. spring — a coil
  22. branch — a division
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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