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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: chest · mate · cue · season · band · stem · wax · present

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. present — there
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stem — to come from
  8. season — in sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chest — a box
  13. cue — a signal
  14. season — of the year
  15. mate — to breed
  16. present — the time now
  17. band — a ring
  18. present — a gift
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a music group
  21. cue — for pool
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stem — a stem cell

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