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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a cake
  3. spring — of water
  4. net — for catching
  5. court — for sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. net — after costs
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. court — of law
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. net — in sport
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stem — to come from
  20. court — of a king
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. roll — a list

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