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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cap — a hat
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. swing — to play on
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. swing — music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cap — a lid
  17. stem — to come from
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wax — to grow
  21. swing — in golf
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. lean — thin
  24. bat — for baseball

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