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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. scale — in music
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — shares
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stem — to come from
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wax — to grow
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. scale — size or range
  20. stock — goods
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wind — to turn a key

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