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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 120 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. firm — steady
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — in sport
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. firm — decided
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. season — of the year
  17. spring — a coil
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. file — a line of people
  24. firm — a company

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