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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — an illness
  6. present — the time now
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stem — to come from
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rock — a stone
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. present — a gift

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