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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 120 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 get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stem — to come from
  6. present — the time now
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. season — of the year
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. present — there
  15. race — a contest
  16. season — in sport
  17. content — the amount
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. content — happy
  20. mine — for digging
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wax — to grow

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