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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. can — to be able to
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wound — an injury
  5. can — a tin
  6. land — ground
  7. face — to confront
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. land — to come down
  14. chair — a leader
  15. can — a tin
  16. face — part of the head
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — a country
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wound — an injury
  23. key — in music
  24. stem — to come from

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