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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. staff — employees
  5. season — of the year
  6. staff — a stick
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. season — in sport
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. court — of law
  13. staff — employees
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. court — for sport
  16. stem — to come from
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wax — to grow
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. court — of a king
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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