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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. spring — of water
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — goods
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. plane — a tool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. content — happy
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spring — a coil
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. wax — to grow
  23. content — the amount
  24. straw — a straw man

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