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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. land — a country
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spell — letters
  7. land — ground
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. kid — child
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. track — a path
  16. land — to come down
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wax — to grow
  19. track — a song
  20. track — to keep track
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. arm — a part of something

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