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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. can — a tin
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. spring — of water
  14. kick — in football
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. court — for sport
  17. spell — letters
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spell — magic
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wax — to grow
  22. spell — a short time
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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