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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. key — in music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wax — to grow
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. bore — to drill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bore — to tire
  14. key — for a lock
  15. clip — to cut
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. prune — to trim
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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