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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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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: stem · spell · bat · wax · bass · band · stick · bay

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. spell — letters
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. band — a music group
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. spell — magic

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