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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. dip — to sink
  3. shower — rain
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — a coil
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wax — to grow
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. can — to be able to
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — music
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spring — the season
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mine — for digging
  24. nail — on a finger

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