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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · ball · wax · capital · toast · rush · patient · stem

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ball — a great time
  5. cold — not warm
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. toast — bread
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. capital — money
  13. rush — hurry
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. capital — a city
  17. wax — to grow
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. ball — a dance

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