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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bark — to shout
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cap — of ice
  9. key — in music
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spring — the season
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. land — ground
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. spring — a coil
  21. key — for a lock
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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