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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. object — a thing
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wind — moving air
  9. object — to protest
  10. wind — moving air
  11. object — an aim
  12. wax — in the ear

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