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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. club — a group
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. land — to come down
  7. club — for golf
  8. stem — to come from
  9. land — a country
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. club — for dancing
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. last — to go on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wax — to grow
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. land — ground
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. stem — of a plant

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