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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. degree — temperature
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — from a university
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. staff — employees
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — of water
  22. staff — a stick
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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