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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. land — a country
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. land — to come down
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. spring — the season
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. spring — of water
  16. chest — a box
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. land — ground
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. bear — the animal
  24. chest — of your body

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