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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. roll — a list
  4. present — a gift
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wax — to grow
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stem — to come from
  14. shower — to wash
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. shower — rain
  18. net — for catching
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. net — in sport
  23. dip — to sink
  24. net — after costs

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