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

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. season — of the year
  7. field — for sport
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. mark — a grade
  10. shower — to wash
  11. season — in sport
  12. mark — a trace
  13. shower — rain
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. field — farmland
  16. stem — to come from
  17. field — a subject
  18. mark — to pay attention

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