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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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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 · cold · fall · march · wax · craft · rest · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rest — a break
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fall — to drop
  7. craft — a skill
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. march — the month
  11. wax — to grow
  12. march — music
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cold — not warm
  16. current — electric
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. craft — boats
  22. current — of water
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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