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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. file — a tool
  4. staff — a stick
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. face — to point toward
  9. race — humankind
  10. present — the time now
  11. present — a gift
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. present — there
  14. race — the arms race
  15. file — a line of people
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. face — to confront
  18. race — a contest
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. wax — to grow
  22. file — a document
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. face — part of the head

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