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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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Word bank
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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. row — a line
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. game — a match
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wax — to grow
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. saw — the tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spring — of water
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. row — to paddle

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