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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: wax · file · board · dip · stem · land · stand · net

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. land — a country
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. land — to come down
  12. net — in sport
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stem — to come from
  15. board — to get on
  16. land — ground
  17. file — a tool
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. dip — to sink
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. net — after costs
  23. board — a committee
  24. net — for catching

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