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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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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. 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 — to come from
  2. file — a document
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bound — certain
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. last — final
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. bound — obliged
  12. file — a tool
  13. last — to go on
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. last — finally
  18. 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