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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ball — a great time
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. wax — to grow
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. stem — to come from
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ball — a dance
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. calf — of the leg

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