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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 120 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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. prune — to trim
  10. shower — to wash
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. last — final
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wax — to grow
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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