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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bank — of a river
  5. clip — a video
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bank — for money
  16. spring — the season
  17. firm — steady
  18. wax — to grow
  19. pitch — completely
  20. spring — of water
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. firm — a company
  23. bank — for money
  24. firm — decided

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