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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 116 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 · bank · stem · kick · field · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. field — a subject
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bank — for money
  8. field — farmland
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bank — of a river
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. bank — for money
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. field — for sport
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — a stem cell

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