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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. suit — in cards
  8. kid — child
  9. lean — to bend
  10. suit — to fit
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. hand — in cards
  13. lean — thin
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. court — of a king
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hand — help
  18. court — of law
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. suit — clothes
  24. court — for sport

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