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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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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. spring — of water
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. spring — the season
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rest — what's left
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rest — a break
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. row — a line
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. row — to paddle

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