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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. land — ground
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. object — to protest
  8. capital — money
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. object — an aim
  14. capital — a city
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. plane — a tool
  17. deal — to handle
  18. stock — goods
  19. object — a thing
  20. stock — shares
  21. prune — to trim
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. prune — to trim
  24. plane — an aircraft

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