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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cap — a lid
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. march — the month
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stem — to come from
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — in a race
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pit — a hole
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — in sport
  21. cap — of ice
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — to grow
  24. march — music

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