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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — a trace
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. rock — music
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. rock — a stone
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mark — a grade
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. row — a line
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. wax — for sculpting

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