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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.

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: spring · chest · wound · present · ball · toast · wax · stem

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — the season
  5. toast — bread
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — to grow
  8. chest — a box
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. present — there
  12. ball — a great time
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. spring — of water
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stem — to come from
  21. present — the time now
  22. chest — of your body
  23. present — a gift
  24. ball — a dance

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