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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. season — in sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pop — music
  8. field — farmland
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rash — a series
  11. wax — to grow
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. rash — hasty
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. stem — to come from

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