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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. scale — in music
  5. cue — a signal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. file — a tool
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cue — a hint
  14. cue — for pool
  15. file — a document
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. wax — to grow
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tear — from crying

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