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

Word bank: club · foot · stem · bowl · tear · wound · march · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. club — a group
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. march — the month
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. stem — to come from
  14. march — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — for golf
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. foot — a measure
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. foot — the bottom

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