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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wake — a trail
  7. clip — a video
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. lie — to recline
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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