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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. wax — to grow
  3. tear — from crying
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tear — to rip
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. swing — music
  9. chip — to eat
  10. spring — of water
  11. tear — from crying
  12. chip — for betting
  13. file — a document
  14. spring — a coil
  15. file — a tool
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. spring — the season
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. file — a line of people
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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