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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wax — to grow
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. stem — to come from
  9. band — a music group
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. fall — the season
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cap — of ice
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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