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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wax — to grow
  3. suit — to fit
  4. last — final
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. suit — in cards
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cold — not warm
  13. last — to go on
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. root — the cause
  16. stem — to come from
  17. root — of a plant
  18. degree — from a university
  19. suit — clothes
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. root — of a word
  22. last — finally
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. degree — an amount

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