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

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. plane — a tool
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cold — not warm

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