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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tear · spring · arm · branch · wax · prune · current · wave

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. branch — a division
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spring — the season
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. current — electric
  10. tear — to rip
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. current — of water
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wax — to grow
  17. spring — a coil
  18. prune — to trim
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. current — happening now
  21. prune — to trim
  22. tear — from crying
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. spring — of water

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