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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cap — a lid
  7. suit — to fit
  8. suit — clothes
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bank — of a river
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bank — for money
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — of water
  16. tear — to rip
  17. spring — the season
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. suit — in cards
  20. bank — for money
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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