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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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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: stem · wax · ground · mate · trunk · rush · bowl · net

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. net — after costs
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ground — a position
  7. mate — to breed
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. rush — hurry
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. ground — the earth
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. net — in sport
  17. stem — to come from
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mate — a partner
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. net — for catching

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