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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. present — a gift
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. present — there
  9. staff — a stick
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. staff — employees
  13. spring — of water
  14. scale — in music
  15. spring — a coil
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. snap — to click
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. spring — the season
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. present — the time now

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