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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pop — soda
  3. spring — the season
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. staff — employees
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spring — of water
  9. mate — a partner
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. spring — a coil
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. staff — a stick
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. staff — employees
  16. pop — to visit
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pop — music
  19. game — a match
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. perch — for a bird

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