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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. shower — rain
  2. spring — the season
  3. wax — to grow
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rest — a break
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — happy
  12. bat — the animal
  13. face — to confront
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — what's left
  16. spring — of water
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bulb — for light
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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