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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. cue — a signal
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. march — the month
  8. snap — to click
  9. shower — rain
  10. march — music
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bound — certain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. march — the month
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wax — to grow
  17. stem — to come from
  18. field — for sport
  19. bound — obliged
  20. shower — to wash
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wax — in the ear

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