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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. ball — a great time
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. lie — to recline
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bound — certain
  13. craft — boats
  14. scale — size or range
  15. degree — an amount
  16. craft — a skill
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. ball — a dance
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. scale — in music
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wax — to grow

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