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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 120 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: stem · straw · rock · pop · hide · rest · wax · cold

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. pop — music
  3. rock — music
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stem — to come from
  8. rest — a break
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rock — a stone

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