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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wax — to grow
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. mug — a face
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. roll — a cake
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mug — to rob
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cold — an illness

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