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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: wax · current · face · fork · branch · field · rock · wound

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. current — happening now
  4. face — to confront
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. current — electric
  9. rock — a stone
  10. wax — to grow
  11. face — part of the head
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rock — music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. branch — a division
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — in a road
  23. field — a subject
  24. fork — a garden tool

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