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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. track — a path
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stem — to come from
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wax — to grow
  8. spell — a short time
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pass — a permit
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. hand — help
  17. spell — letters
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a committee
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stem — a stem cell

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