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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · mate · race · kid · stem · wax

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. mate — to breed
  7. kid — child
  8. stem — to come from
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. tear — to rip
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wax — to grow

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