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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 116 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. wax — to grow
  3. content — the amount
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — a match
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fall — the season
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — high quality
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fall — to drop
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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