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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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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: ruler · bore · wax · temple · spring · land · season · stem

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. spring — of water
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. land — a country
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bore — to drill
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. season — of the year
  18. land — to come down
  19. stem — to come from
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. spring — the season
  22. season — in sport
  23. land — ground
  24. temple — side of the head

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