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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: racket · bear · rule · mate · cold · season · stem · wax

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. rule — a law
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. rule — government
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stem — to come from
  24. racket — a loud noise

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