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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wax — to grow
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bore — to drill
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. hand — help
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cue — a signal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. stem — to come from

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