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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. key — for a lock
  4. spring — the season
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cap — a lid
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rest — what's left
  12. snap — to click
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — of water
  18. rest — what's left
  19. key — in music
  20. lean — thin
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. scale — in music
  23. rest — a break
  24. key — the most important part

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