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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. spring — the season
  4. staff — employees
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. season — in sport
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tube — a container
  11. staff — a stick
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. season — of the year
  14. toast — bread
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. wax — to grow
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. pass — a permit
  21. spring — a coil
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. staff — employees
  24. pass — to spend time

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