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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. land — ground
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. saw — the tool
  10. land — a country
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stem — to come from
  14. present — there
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. present — the time now
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chip — for betting
  19. present — a gift
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. land — to come down
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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