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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cap — a lid
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cap — a hat
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — to grow
  10. race — a contest
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. scale — size or range
  14. mug — a face
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. mug — to rob
  18. race — the arms race
  19. spring — the season
  20. cap — of ice
  21. scale — in music
  22. sharp — clever
  23. race — humankind
  24. mug — a cup

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