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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. field — farmland
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. file — a document
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stem — to come from
  11. key — for a lock
  12. wax — to grow
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a tool
  15. key — the most important part
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. key — in music
  21. plane — a tool
  22. shower — rain
  23. file — a line of people
  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