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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. board — to get on
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. board — a committee
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. perch — the fish
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. ball — a dance
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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