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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. stem — to come from
  3. file — a line of people
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. mark — a trace
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. field — a subject
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. file — a document
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. field — for sport
  13. file — a tool
  14. mark — a grade
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. plane — a tool
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. field — farmland

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