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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. kid — to tease
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. kid — child
  14. bass — low music
  15. staff — employees
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. can — a tin
  18. staff — employees
  19. stem — to come from
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. season — in sport

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