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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. ball — a dance
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spring — the season
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — the fish
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wax — to grow
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. race — the arms race
  18. band — a music group
  19. cell — in biology
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cell — in a prison

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