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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bass — low music
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pop — music
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spring — of water
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. pop — soda
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. spring — the season
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pop — to visit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. lean — to bend
  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