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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: hand · wax · stem · prune · bay · cell · bank · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bank — of a river
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bank — for money
  13. stem — to come from
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bank — for money
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cell — a phone
  20. hand — help
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cell — in biology
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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