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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. kid — child
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. rush — hurry
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. kid — to tease
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. present — a gift
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stem — to come from

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