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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bass — the fish
  6. club — for golf
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. club — a group
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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