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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 · tear · last · pop · wax · leaves · branch · squash

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pop — music
  3. last — final
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the sport
  6. current — happening now
  7. pop — soda
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. last — to go on
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wax — to grow
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. tear — from crying
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. squash — to crush
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. last — finally
  24. pop — to visit

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