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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 124 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bound — obliged
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. spring — the season
  5. scale — in music
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bear — the animal
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. scale — size or range
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bound — certain
  18. file — a document
  19. bound — tied together
  20. file — a tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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