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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. cell — in biology
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. cell — a phone
  10. row — a line
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bear — the animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. file — a line of people
  16. lie — to recline
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. row — to paddle

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