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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: hide · wax · chair · roll · pit · plane · clip · stem

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. pit — a hole
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. pit — in a race
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stem — to come from
  16. clip — a video
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. clip — to cut
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. plane — a tool
  24. roll — a list

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