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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stand — to bear
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. land — ground
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wax — to grow
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — a country
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rock — music
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stem — to come from
  22. land — to come down
  23. rock — a stone
  24. bear — the animal

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