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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 120 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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. chest — a box
  4. pop — soda
  5. spring — of water
  6. pop — to visit
  7. spring — the season
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wake — a trail
  13. pop — music
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chest — of your body
  19. board — to get on
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. board — a committee

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