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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pop — soda
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — music
  5. snap — to click
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wind — moving air
  10. object — a thing
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. object — an aim
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. object — to protest
  17. stem — to come from
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. pop — to visit
  24. patient — a sick person

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