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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. plane — a tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. shower — rain
  9. stem — to come from
  10. file — a document
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. file — a tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wax — to grow
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. capital — a city
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. capital — money

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