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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — of water
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cap — a lid
  6. drill — the tool
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. drill — army training
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. drill — a practice
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. land — to come down
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cap — a hat

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