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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bore — to tire
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. spring — the season
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. spring — a coil
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spring — of water
  19. scale — in music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. fork — a garden tool

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