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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: fall · stem · dip · wake · wax · bark · firm · last

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. firm — decided
  11. wax — to grow
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. fall — the season
  14. last — final
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. last — finally
  20. firm — a company
  21. last — to go on
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stem — of a plant

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