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

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. last — to go on
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stem — to come from
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. season — in sport
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — low music
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wax — for sculpting

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