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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. last — final
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. last — to go on
  12. chest — of your body
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. last — finally
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chest — a box
  20. face — part of the head
  21. season — of the year
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stem — to come from
  24. season — in sport

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