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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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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. net — in sport
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to point toward
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. squash — the sport
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wax — to grow
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — an illness
  15. face — to confront
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. face — part of the head
  20. net — for catching
  21. rush — hurry
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. net — after costs
  24. squash — to crush

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