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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bass — the fish
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bass — low music
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — of water
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stem — to come from
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bound — certain
  24. bound — tied together

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