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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. rush — hurry
  6. field — farmland
  7. ground — a position
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. ground — the earth
  10. field — a subject
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wake — a trail
  16. field — for sport
  17. ground — crushed
  18. staff — employees
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. stem — to come from
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. stem — of a plant

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