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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wound — an injury
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. fall — the season
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mark — a grade
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. dip — to sink
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mark — a trace
  21. wound — an injury
  22. clip — a video
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. fall — to drop

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