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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. band — a music group
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. last — to go on
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rock — a stone
  9. land — ground
  10. last — final
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. spring — the season
  13. rock — music
  14. land — a country
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. land — to come down
  21. band — a ring
  22. last — finally
  23. fork — in a road
  24. spring — 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