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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. charge — in control
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. spring — of water
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. toast — bread
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. charge — electricity
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. ball — a dance
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. charge — a price
  24. ball — a round shape

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