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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: leaves · game · sharp · season · stem · tear · pass · wax

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. season — in sport
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. game — a match
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. sharp — clever
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. game — wild animals
  20. tear — from crying
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. tear — to rip
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. leaves — to go away

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