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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stem — to come from
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. file — a line of people
  10. rock — music
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. fine — all right
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. swing — in golf
  22. fine — high quality
  23. rock — a stone
  24. swing — music

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