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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. spring — a coil
  3. dip — to sink
  4. net — after costs
  5. lie — to recline
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. kid — child
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. net — for catching
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. spring — of water
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wax — to grow
  17. degree — an amount
  18. spring — the season
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. net — in sport
  24. kid — to tease

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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