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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. lie — to recline
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spell — letters
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spring — of water
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — to grow
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spell — magic
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — a short time
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. spring — the season
  24. perch — for a bird

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