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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wax — to grow
  3. spring — the season
  4. last — finally
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spring — of water
  8. root — of a plant
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. last — to go on
  11. rush — hurry
  12. root — the cause
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. swing — to play on
  15. last — final
  16. spring — a coil
  17. root — of a word
  18. game — wild animals
  19. swing — music
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wax — for sculpting

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