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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: arm · roll · face · fan · wax · club · spell · stem

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. spell — letters
  3. face — to point toward
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. club — for dancing
  6. roll — a list
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. face — to confront
  9. club — a group
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. spell — a short time
  14. roll — a cake
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. stem — to come from
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spell — magic
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stem — a stem cell

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