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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. tube — a container
  5. row — a line
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stem — to come from
  13. tube — the underground
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. scale — in music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. shower — rain

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