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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: stem · rest · game · fall · bowl · present · cold · wax

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rest — what's left
  4. game — a match
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. present — a gift
  9. wax — to grow
  10. present — there
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — a break
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fall — to drop
  19. present — the time now
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. cold — an illness

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