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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. spell — letters
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. lean — to bend
  7. spring — of water
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spell — magic
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a lid
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spring — the season
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. lean — thin
  20. cue — for pool
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cue — a signal
  24. dip — to sink

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