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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. degree — from a university
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. snap — to click
  10. spring — the season
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bound — certain
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bound — obliged
  17. wax — to grow
  18. mate — a friend
  19. degree — an amount
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — a coil

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