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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: kid · stem · wax · firm · straw · fork · stick · land

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kid — child
  4. firm — steady
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. firm — decided
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. firm — a company
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. land — to come down
  24. wax — to grow

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