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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: bank · wax · file · stem · season · rash · court · pop

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rash — hasty
  7. court — of law
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pop — music
  14. bank — of a river
  15. pop — soda
  16. court — of a king
  17. file — a tool
  18. season — of the year
  19. pop — to visit
  20. rash — a series
  21. court — for sport
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bank — for money

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