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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. capital — a city
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bass — low music
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — a measure
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. snap — to click
  14. bass — the fish
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wax — to grow
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stem — to come from
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. branch — a division
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. capital — money

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