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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 120 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cap — a hat
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — music
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. land — a country
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — to come from
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a lid
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. land — to come down
  24. wax — to grow

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