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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. spring — of water
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stock — goods
  8. current — of water
  9. last — to go on
  10. row — a line
  11. spring — a coil
  12. current — electric
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stock — shares
  15. mate — a partner
  16. row — to paddle
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. current — happening now
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — to grow

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