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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: date · wind · pitcher · wax · object · arm · stem · bat

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bat — the animal
  5. object — to protest
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wind — moving air
  10. object — a thing
  11. wind — moving air
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. object — an aim
  22. stem — to come from
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. date — the fruit

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