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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: land · stem · foot · bass · can · rash · cold · wax

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bass — low music
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. stem — to come from
  5. can — to be able to
  6. land — to come down
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. land — ground
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bass — the fish
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. can — a tin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. land — a country
  22. can — a tin
  23. rash — a series
  24. cold — the Cold War

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