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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spring — of water
  3. toast — bread
  4. last — to go on
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. last — finally
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. last — final
  11. bulb — for light
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wax — to grow
  17. kid — child
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. row — to paddle
  20. spring — the season
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spring — a coil

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