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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. drill — army training
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. swing — music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. band — a music group
  11. wax — to grow
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stem — to come from
  19. drill — a practice
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. trunk — of a tree

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