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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bass — low music
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. spring — the season
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spring — of water
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. kid — child
  19. pitch — completely
  20. stand — to bear
  21. pit — a hole
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. lean — to bend
  24. pit — in a race

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