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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. present — a gift
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. present — the time now
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. present — there
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. wax — to grow
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fan — a supporter

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