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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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. wax — for sculpting
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. firm — steady
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spring — a coil
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. face — part of the head
  17. object — an aim
  18. face — to confront
  19. object — a thing
  20. firm — a company
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. object — to protest
  23. fork — in a road
  24. firm — decided

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