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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. content — the amount
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bore — to tire
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bore — to drill
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. content — happy

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