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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. field — for sport
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bank — for money
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bank — for money
  10. prune — to trim
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. prune — to trim
  14. face — to confront
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bank — of a river
  18. stem — to come from
  19. face — to point toward
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wake — a trail

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