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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: leaves · mine · stem · clip · perch · wax · ground · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pop — to visit
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. ground — a position
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wax — to grow
  18. pop — music
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mine — for digging
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ground — crushed

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