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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kid — child
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wax — to grow
  6. face — to point toward
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stem — to come from
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. kid — to tease
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rest — a break
  21. face — to confront
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. hand — in cards
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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