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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. club — for golf
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. club — a group
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a tool
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wax — to grow
  19. file — a document
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. cap — a hat
  24. club — for dancing

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