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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. row — a line
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. spring — of water
  6. game — a match
  7. spring — a coil
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. row — to paddle
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pitch — completely
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wax — to grow
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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