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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. capital — a city
  6. ball — a great time
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ball — a dance
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. capital — money
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. scale — size or range

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