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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bear — the animal
  5. rash — a series
  6. track — a path
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. date — the fruit
  9. track — a song
  10. game — a match
  11. plane — a tool
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rash — hasty
  19. track — to keep track
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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