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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. net — in sport
  3. pop — soda
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cell — a phone
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pop — to visit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cell — in biology
  14. last — final
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. net — after costs
  17. stem — to come from
  18. pop — music
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. net — for catching
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. date — the fruit

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