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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: row · calf · root · pit · stem · cold · capital · wax

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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. row — to paddle
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. row — a line
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a city
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. pit — a hole
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. root — of a word
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cold — an illness
  18. pit — in a race
  19. capital — money
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cold — not warm
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — the cause

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