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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: stem · bass · spring · jam · patient · wax · file · rock

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rock — music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. file — a document
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — of water
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. file — a tool
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. rock — a stone
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. spring — the season
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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