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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: wax · stem · cap · cold · staff · band · pass · race

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. cap — a hat
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — not warm
  14. staff — employees
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. race — a contest
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. wax — to grow
  23. race — humankind
  24. pass — a permit

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