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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitcher · mate · capital · dip · wax · present · bark · stem

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. capital — money
  5. present — there
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. mate — a partner
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. dip — to sink
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mate — to breed
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. present — the time now
  24. capital — a city

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