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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rule — a law
  3. season — of the year
  4. file — a tool
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. mug — a face
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pit — in a race
  11. file — a document
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. mug — to rob
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stem — to come from
  17. season — in sport
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. rule — government
  21. pit — a hole
  22. wax — to grow
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. season — to add flavour

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