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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: fork · sharp · stem · clip · chest · wax

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fork — in a road
  7. chest — a box
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. clip — to cut
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. clip — a video
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wax — to grow
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stem — of a plant

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