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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. dip — to sink
  7. kid — child
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. prune — to trim
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. hand — in cards
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wax — to grow
  17. kid — to tease
  18. spring — of water
  19. hand — help
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. current — of water

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