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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. mate — a partner
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. spring — a coil
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. spring — the season
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wax — to grow
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. stem — to come from
  24. spring — of water

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