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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. content — the amount
  8. rest — what's left
  9. club — for golf
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rest — a break
  18. mine — for digging
  19. club — a group
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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