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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: fan · bear · band · stand · wax · wound · cell · wake

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wake — a trail
  3. stand — to bear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. band — a ring
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bear — the animal

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