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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fall — the season
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fall — to drop
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. can — a tin
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spring — of water
  22. stem — to come from
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. chair — a leader

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