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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: current · bat · chair · wax · stem · season · date · pitcher

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. date — the fruit
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. current — happening now
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. current — of water
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. stem — to come from
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bat — the animal
  23. current — electric
  24. season — of the year

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