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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cue — for pool
  3. ground — crushed
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. prune — to trim
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cue — a hint
  9. wax — to grow
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rash — a series
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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