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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. spring — a coil
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wax — to grow
  8. last — to go on
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. last — final
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. last — finally
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. spring — the season
  20. stem — to come from
  21. row — a line
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — of water
  24. sharp — exactly

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