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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: wax · coach · bank · calf · stem · spring · cold · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. snap — to click
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bank — for money
  12. spring — the season
  13. bank — for money
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bank — of a river
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stem — of a plant

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