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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — temperature
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. season — in sport
  8. snap — to click
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. last — final
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. degree — from a university
  20. branch — a division
  21. wax — to grow
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — finally
  24. stem — to come from

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