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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. key — for a lock
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. key — the most important part
  5. dip — to sink
  6. key — in music
  7. roll — a cake
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. spring — the season
  11. roll — a list
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. mark — a trace
  16. spring — of water
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mark — a grade
  20. snap — to click
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. roll — on a roll

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