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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 120 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spring — of water
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. fall — the season
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. file — a line of people
  8. press — newspapers
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. press — a publisher
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. press — to push
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wax — to grow
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. file — a document
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. file — a tool
  24. stem — a stem cell

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