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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. present — there
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bore — to drill
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — to go on
  9. present — a gift
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wax — to grow
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. present — the time now
  15. bulb — for light
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. last — final
  18. spring — of water
  19. last — finally
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. spring — the season
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bore — to tire
  24. rest — a break

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