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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. suit — clothes
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rock — a stone
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. spring — of water
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. track — a song
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. suit — to fit
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. spring — the season
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. suit — in cards
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. game — a match
  20. wax — to grow
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. mine — for digging
  24. game — wild animals

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