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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kid — child
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bank — of a river
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ground — a position
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bank — for money
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bank — for money
  14. kid — to tease
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wax — to grow
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ground — crushed
  24. stem — to come from

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