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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 120 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: stem · wax · bowl · leaves · snap · saw · mine · spring

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spring — of water
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mine — for digging
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spring — a coil
  9. snap — to click
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. saw — the tool
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wax — to grow
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bowl — to roll
  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