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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. deal — to handle
  5. net — for catching
  6. row — a line
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bark — to shout
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. mate — a partner
  14. net — after costs
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. net — in sport
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. row — a quarrel

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