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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bound — obliged
  4. march — the month
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — to grow
  8. march — music
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. spring — of water
  11. wake — a trail
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — an injury
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bound — certain
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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