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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. snap — to click
  3. spring — of water
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spring — a coil
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. squash — the sport
  10. ground — crushed
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. band — a music group
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. band — a ring
  15. scale — in music
  16. wax — to grow
  17. ground — a position
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. rush — hurry
  24. spring — the season

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