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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — a city
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — a phone
  7. capital — money
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. stem — a stem cell

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