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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. craft — a skill
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. craft — boats
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. stem — to come from
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. lie — to recline
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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