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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. 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. club — for dancing
  2. land — a country
  3. stand — to bear
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — ground
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. club — for golf
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. club — a group
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. land — to come down
  17. wax — to grow
  18. 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