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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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. rock — music
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pop — soda
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pop — to visit
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pop — music
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. field — farmland
  23. craft — boats
  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