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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. can — to be able to
  3. file — a tool
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. content — happy
  9. lie — to recline
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. can — a tin
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wax — to grow
  14. can — a tin
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. march — music
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stem — to come from
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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