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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bat — the animal
  3. root — of a word
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wax — to grow
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mug — a cup
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mug — a face
  17. root — the cause
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mug — to rob
  21. drill — army training
  22. game — a match
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. root — of a plant

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