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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: bass · bank · last · wax · stick · roll · perch · cold

  1. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. last — final
  3. bank — for money
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bass — low music
  7. last — to go on
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wax — to grow
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. last — finally
  19. bank — for money
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. perch — the fish
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. roll — a list
  24. wax — for sculpting

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