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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: tear · bore · wave · stem · wax · cap · clip · straw

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cap — a hat
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bore — to drill
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. clip — a video
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. clip — to cut
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bore — to tire
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stem — a stem cell

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