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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. ball — a dance
  6. spring — the season
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. lean — thin
  11. wax — to grow
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rock — music
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spring — of water
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. file — a tool
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rock — a stone
  22. perch — the fish
  23. kick — in football
  24. file — a document

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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