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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bass — the fish
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. present — the time now
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. race — a contest
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bass — low music
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. season — in sport
  12. present — a gift
  13. shower — rain
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. season — of the year
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. stem — to come from
  21. chest — a box
  22. shower — to wash
  23. chest — of your body
  24. race — humankind

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