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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. key — for a lock
  3. pop — music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. land — to come down
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. key — the most important part
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. key — in music
  12. roll — a list
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — ground
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. land — a country
  24. stem — a stem cell

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