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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. court — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. staff — employees
  5. spring — the season
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. firm — decided
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — of your body
  12. firm — a company
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — a box
  15. firm — steady
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chest — of your body
  18. present — a gift
  19. court — of a king
  20. present — the time now
  21. court — of law
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wind — moving air
  24. present — there

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