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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rest — a break
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. cap — of ice
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cold — not warm
  10. march — the month
  11. stem — to come from
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wax — to grow
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cold — the Cold War

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