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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. last — finally
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. stem — to come from
  6. last — to go on
  7. band — a ring
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. last — final
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wax — to grow
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. season — in sport
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kick — in football

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