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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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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: rest · bat · stem · object · wind · wave

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. object — to protest
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. object — a thing
  7. rest — a break
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. object — an aim
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. rest — what's left
  18. stem — of a plant

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