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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. spring — of water
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wax — to grow
  6. land — to come down
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — after costs
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. net — in sport
  12. spring — a coil
  13. clip — to cut
  14. net — for catching
  15. land — ground
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bulb — for light
  19. spring — the season
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. clip — a video
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. land — a country
  24. clip — for paper

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