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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. shower — rain
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. net — in sport
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. net — after costs
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. shower — to wash
  15. content — the amount
  16. net — for catching
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wound — an injury
  19. content — happy
  20. track — a song
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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