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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. face — to point toward
  4. root — of a word
  5. stem — to come from
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. land — ground
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. root — the cause
  13. land — to come down
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. root — of a plant
  17. land — a country
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. kid — child
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. nail — for a hammer

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