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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: file · charge · pop · bat · hand · wax · stem · calf

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. charge — electricity
  3. wax — to grow
  4. file — a tool
  5. pop — soda
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. file — a document
  11. pop — music
  12. charge — in control
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bat — the animal
  16. charge — a price
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. hand — help

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