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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. present — there
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. season — in sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wax — to grow
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pit — in a race
  17. toast — bread
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. present — a gift
  22. capital — money
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. capital — a city

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