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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. file — a tool
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wax — to grow
  11. tube — the underground
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tube — a container
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bound — tied together
  16. file — a document
  17. bound — obliged
  18. kick — in football
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bound — certain

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