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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. row — a line
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. deal — to handle
  6. wax — to grow
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. fall — the season
  11. prune — to trim
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. fine — all right
  14. plane — a tool
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — high quality
  19. stem — to come from
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wax — in the ear
  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