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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.

Make a worksheet

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: scale · mouse · pit · stem · wax · chest · mine · spring

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. pit — in a race
  13. chest — of your body
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spring — of water
  17. mine — for digging
  18. scale — in music
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. spring — the season
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — a box
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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