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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. track — to keep track
  4. chair — a leader
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. kid — child
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wax — to grow
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spring — the season
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. track — a path
  21. hand — help
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. hand — in cards
  24. track — a song

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