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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. mate — a partner
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. field — a subject
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stem — to come from
  17. chip — to eat
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. mate — to breed
  21. field — for sport
  22. mate — a friend
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. chip — for betting

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