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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. field — a subject
  11. stem — to come from
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rash — hasty
  15. spell — letters
  16. cold — an illness
  17. field — farmland
  18. rash — a series
  19. field — for sport
  20. spell — magic
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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