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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. wax — to grow
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. snap — to click
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kick — in football
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kid — child
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. kick — with a leg

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