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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: stem · bay · ground · wake · rash · wax · spell · bat

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rash — a series
  3. spell — magic
  4. ground — a position
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spell — letters
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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