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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. file — a tool
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spring — a coil
  5. scale — size or range
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. dip — to sink
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. object — to protest
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wax — to grow
  14. object — an aim
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. spring — the season
  17. object — a thing
  18. file — a line of people
  19. scale — in music
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. file — a document
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. ball — a great time

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