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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bass — low music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. rule — a law
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rule — government
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bass — the fish
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — a box
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. wax — for sculpting

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