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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 116 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spring — of water
  3. stand — to bear
  4. rock — a stone
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. march — the month
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. march — music
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wax — to grow
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — a coil
  19. saw — the tool
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — the season
  22. rock — music
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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