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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. band — a ring
  4. last — to go on
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. last — final
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wax — to grow
  11. shower — to wash
  12. saw — the tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. band — a music group
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. shower — rain
  21. last — finally
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wax — in the ear

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