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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wax — to grow
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. sharp — clever
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. object — an aim
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. band — a ring
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a music group
  22. rash — a series
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — to protest

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