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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — of water
  5. wax — to grow
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. club — a group
  8. march — music
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. game — wild animals
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. march — the month
  18. dip — to sink
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. spring — the season
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. game — a match

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