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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bore — to tire
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wax — to grow
  7. tube — the underground
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. stem — to come from
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bore — to drill
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. kid — child
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tube — a container
  24. kid — to tease

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