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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: club · roll · rest · wax · season · stem · hand · dip

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. hand — help
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. rest — a break
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. season — in sport
  9. roll — a list
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rest — what's left
  15. club — for golf
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. club — a group
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. season — of the year
  23. stem — to come from
  24. roll — a cake

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