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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chest — a box
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. board — a committee
  8. wax — to grow
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — a cake
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. board — to get on
  17. chest — of your body
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. pitch — a sports field

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