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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 116 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — to grow
  6. club — for golf
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stem — to come from
  9. capital — a city
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. club — for dancing
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. club — a group
  16. court — of law
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. branch — a division
  19. capital — money
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — for sport
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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