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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bound — certain
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. march — the month
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. march — the month
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — obliged
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. march — music
  23. bear — the animal
  24. drill — the tool

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