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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. ground — crushed
  8. court — for sport
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. prune — to trim
  11. court — of law
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. court — of a king
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. spring — the season
  16. can — a tin
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. ground — a position
  21. can — to be able to
  22. spring — of water
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for 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