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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: wake · tube · wax · ground · bank · current · field · clip

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. field — farmland
  3. clip — a video
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bank — for money
  6. tube — a container
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wax — to grow
  10. field — for sport
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ground — a position
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. current — of water
  16. field — a subject
  17. current — electric
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ground — the earth
  21. current — happening now
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. tube — the underground
  24. clip — to cut

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