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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. wax — to grow
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. spring — of water
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. lie — to recline
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. key — for a lock
  16. spring — the season
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth

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