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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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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: wax · march · kid · stem · mate · rash · branch · current

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stem — to come from
  7. branch — a division
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. current — electric
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. current — happening now
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wax — to grow
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. march — the month
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. current — of water
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. mate — a partner

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