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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fall — the season
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mug — a face
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. field — farmland
  14. fall — to drop
  15. season — of the year
  16. mug — to rob
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wax — to grow
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mug — a cup
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. stem — to come from
  23. season — in sport
  24. cell — in biology

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