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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: patient · leaves · wax · branch · wind · row · squash · rush

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. squash — the sport
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. row — a line
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — to crush
  22. wax — to grow
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. leaves — lets stay

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