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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: stem · lash · wax · drill · foot · tube · saw · cold

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cold — not warm
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wax — to grow
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. drill — a practice
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. drill — the tool
  21. tube — the underground
  22. drill — army training
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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