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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — rain
  3. capital — money
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wax — to grow
  9. rest — what's left
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — a city
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stem — to come from
  23. spring — of water
  24. shower — to wash

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