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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cell — a phone
  4. perch — the fish
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. pop — music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pop — soda
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. race — humankind
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. pop — to visit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. race — a contest
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wax — to grow
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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