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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: wake · band · bat · fall · wax · bulb · fan · last

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fall — to drop
  4. last — to go on
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — the season
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. wake — a trail
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fan — a supporter
  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