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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. root — the cause
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bat — the animal
  8. land — to come down
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — to grow
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. land — ground
  24. wind — moving air

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