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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. fine — all right
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fine — high quality
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. present — the time now
  9. spring — a coil
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wax — to grow
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tube — a container
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tube — the underground
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fall — the season

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