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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. current — electric
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. season — in sport
  7. wax — to grow
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. capital — a city
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. spring — of water
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. current — of water
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. current — happening now
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. capital — money

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