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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. spring — the season
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spring — of water
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to click
  24. kid — child

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