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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 116 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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. rash — hasty
  4. last — final
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. last — to go on
  7. root — of a word
  8. land — ground
  9. net — for catching
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. last — finally
  12. rash — a series
  13. mark — a grade
  14. root — of a plant
  15. land — a country
  16. wax — to grow
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. net — in sport
  19. root — the cause
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. net — after costs
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. land — to come down

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