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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. squash — the sport
  7. club — for dancing
  8. land — to come down
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stem — to come from
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. kid — child
  16. squash — to crush
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cell — in biology
  19. land — a country
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. land — ground
  24. cell — a phone

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