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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 120 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: present · staff · stick · mouse · wax · tear · bat · pitcher

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wax — to grow
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. staff — employees
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. present — the time now
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — in an idiom

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