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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. row — a line
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. shower — to wash
  6. season — in sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. wax — to grow
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. row — to paddle
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to click
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — all right
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. season — of the year
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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