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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: stem · date · march · cap · arm · chest · fork · wax

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. stem — to come from
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. fork — in a road
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a lid
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. date — the fruit
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cap — of ice
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. arm — part of the body

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