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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wax — to grow
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. last — final
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. last — to go on
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a document
  17. wake — a trail
  18. last — finally
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wound — an injury
  24. file — a 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