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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. last — final
  7. band — a music group
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. staff — employees
  10. wax — to grow
  11. land — ground
  12. last — to go on
  13. stem — to come from
  14. last — finally
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rule — government
  17. land — to come down
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rule — a law
  20. land — a country
  21. face — to confront
  22. staff — employees
  23. band — a ring
  24. face — to point toward

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