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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pound — a weight
  13. field — a subject
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rest — a break
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. field — for sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. field — farmland
  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