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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: bass · stem · wind · temple · wax · dip · kid · capital

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bass — the fish
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bass — low music
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. capital — money
  14. kid — child
  15. wax — to grow
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bass — the instrument

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