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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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. wax — to grow
  4. stem — to come from
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. file — a document
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. object — a thing
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mate — to breed
  11. last — final
  12. club — a group
  13. last — finally
  14. object — an aim
  15. file — a tool
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. mate — a partner
  19. file — a line of people
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. last — to go on
  23. object — to protest
  24. mate — a friend

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