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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 116 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. lean — to bend
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. spring — of water
  7. staff — employees
  8. pit — a hole
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mug — a face
  11. pit — in a race
  12. mug — a cup
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — the season
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wax — to grow

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