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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 120 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 · chest · branch · sharp · fan · chair · stem · object

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. object — to protest
  4. chair — a leader
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. sharp — clever
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. chest — of your body
  12. object — a thing
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. object — an aim
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wax — to grow
  24. sharp — with an edge

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