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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. file — a line of people
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wax — to grow
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. foot — a measure
  13. scale — size or range
  14. mate — a partner
  15. branch — a division
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. file — a tool
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. file — a document
  21. dip — to sink
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. plane — an aircraft

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