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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 120 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: wax · wind · stem · fine · cell · current · saw · drill

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. stem — to come from
  4. current — electric
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. current — of water
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fine — all right
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. current — happening now
  18. drill — army training
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wind — moving air
  22. saw — the tool
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cell — a phone

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