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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. suit — in cards
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. shower — to wash
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. shower — rain
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wax — to grow
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. root — the cause
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. root — of a word
  14. suit — clothes
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. can — a tin
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. suit — to fit
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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