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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. suit — in cards
  3. lean — to bend
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. file — a tool
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. tube — a container
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lean — thin
  13. wax — to grow
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — to fit
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stem — to come from
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. file — a document
  24. stem — a stem cell

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