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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. spring — a coil
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. net — in sport
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. staff — employees
  11. object — to protest
  12. pop — to visit
  13. spring — the season
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. object — an aim
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. object — a thing
  19. pop — music
  20. sharp — clever
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. spring — of water
  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