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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 · band · ground · net · tube · stem · shower · leaves

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. net — after costs
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wax — to grow
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. net — for catching
  9. tube — a container
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. tube — the underground
  18. shower — rain
  19. ground — crushed
  20. shower — to wash
  21. stem — to come from
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. ground — a position

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