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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stem — to come from
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. content — happy
  19. face — to point toward
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to confront
  24. chair — a professorship

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