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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: bat · wake · patient · ground · stem · wax · key · branch

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. ground — crushed
  4. key — in music
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wake — a trail
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. branch — a division
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. key — for a lock
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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