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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. lean — to bend
  3. kid — to tease
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. march — music
  8. wax — to grow
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. kid — child
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. lean — thin
  14. march — the month
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stem — to come from
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. march — the month
  23. foot — a measure
  24. mate — a friend

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