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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bass — the fish
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wax — to grow
  5. perch — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bass — low music
  9. dip — to sink
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bound — tied together
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bound — certain
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chest — a box
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. chest — of your body
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stem — a stem cell

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