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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. rest — what's left
  3. tear — from crying
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rest — a break
  6. land — ground
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. board — a committee
  11. rest — what's left
  12. land — a country
  13. wax — to grow
  14. spring — the season
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. land — to come down
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bear — the animal

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