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

Word bank: fall · arm · wax · shower · stem · bat · ruler · straw

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. shower — to wash
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. fall — the season
  24. stem — to come from

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