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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. spring — of water
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — a country
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. net — in sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — ground
  14. season — of the year
  15. rash — a series
  16. season — in sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — an injury
  19. land — to come down
  20. net — after costs
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. net — for catching
  24. rash — hasty

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