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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wax — to grow
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. face — to point toward
  6. last — to go on
  7. scale — in music
  8. face — to confront
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cap — of ice
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. scale — size or range
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cap — a lid
  24. stem — of a plant

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