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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 120 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: ground · wax · bat · wound · wave · stick · chip · wake

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. chip — to eat
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ground — a position
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. wax — for sculpting

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