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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. object — a thing
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wax — to grow
  8. spring — of water
  9. board — to get on
  10. object — to protest
  11. bore — to tire
  12. spring — a coil
  13. board — a committee
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. chest — a box
  18. bore — to drill
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. object — an aim
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — not warm
  23. sharp — clever
  24. spring — the season

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