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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. shower — rain
  5. field — farmland
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. mine — for digging
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. field — a subject
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. shower — to wash
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. field — for sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — in sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. prune — to trim
  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