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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: track · face · straw · arm · kid · stem · wax · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. face — part of the head
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. track — a song
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stem — to come from
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wax — to grow
  20. kid — child
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. face — to confront

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