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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's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. last — final
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. sharp — clever
  11. wax — to grow
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. board — to get on
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bark — to shout
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. staff — employees

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