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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. can — a tin
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. shower — rain
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bear — the animal
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chest — a box
  24. can — a tin

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