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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. spring — of water
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. hand — in cards
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. spring — a coil
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hand — help
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. mate — a partner
  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