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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · staff · pitcher · clip · safe · racket · rest · wax

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. rest — a break
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rest — what's left
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wax — to grow
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. rest — what's left
  22. staff — a stick
  23. clip — a video
  24. pitcher — a jug

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