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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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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: wake · stem · chair · bulb · wind · mine · season · cap

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. season — of the year
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. cap — a lid
  11. bulb — for light
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — of ice
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mine — an explosive

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