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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: toast · trunk · wax · spring · key · stem · mate · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mate — a friend
  7. spring — of water
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. key — for a lock
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. spring — the season
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. spring — a coil
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. toast — bread
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cold — not warm
  23. key — in music
  24. wax — in the ear

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