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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: branch · wax · band · wind · degree · spring · staff · tear

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. tear — to rip
  12. degree — temperature
  13. branch — a division
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wax — to grow
  16. staff — employees
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. staff — employees
  21. spring — of water
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. staff — a stick
  24. branch — of a bank

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