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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · tear · wind · fork · stem · scale

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — in music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wax — to grow
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fork — in a road

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