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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. tear — to rip
  13. sharp — clever
  14. shower — rain
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. branch — of a tree

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