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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. squash — to crush
  6. tube — a container
  7. present — a gift
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. season — of the year
  12. tube — the underground
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stem — to come from
  16. present — the time now
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. season — in sport
  22. wax — to grow
  23. present — there
  24. wake — a trail

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