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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. root — of a word
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bound — tied together
  12. spring — of water
  13. ball — a dance
  14. spring — the season
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bound — certain
  17. drill — army training
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. root — the cause
  20. bound — obliged
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. drill — the tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. drill — a practice

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