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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spell — magic
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rush — hurry
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. root — of a word
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spell — letters

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