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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. chest — of your body
  4. row — to paddle
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. spring — the season
  7. wax — to grow
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. chest — a box
  10. spring — of water
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. toast — bread
  14. file — a document
  15. row — a line
  16. suit — in cards
  17. file — a tool
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. file — a line of people
  21. suit — clothes
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. suit — to fit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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