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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wax — to grow
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. scale — size or range
  7. pop — music
  8. cell — in biology
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pop — to visit
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. scale — in music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. clip — a video
  15. stem — to come from
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pop — soda
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rush — hurry

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