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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 116 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. court — for sport
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spring — of water
  5. clip — a video
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — a face
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. fork — in a road
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kid — child
  13. dip — to sink
  14. mug — to rob
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. clip — to cut
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — in the ear

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