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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: chest · wax · bay · cold · bank · spell · racket · patient

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. wax — to grow
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. chest — a box
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bank — of a river
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bank — for money
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chest — of your body
  18. spell — magic
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cold — an illness
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. spell — letters
  23. bank — for money
  24. cold — not warm

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