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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. spring — of water
  6. cell — in biology
  7. root — of a word
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — to get on
  10. firm — a company
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. firm — decided
  13. cell — a phone
  14. firm — steady
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tube — the underground
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spring — the season
  19. wax — to grow
  20. root — of a plant
  21. tube — a container
  22. root — the cause
  23. board — a committee
  24. season — in sport

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