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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wax — to grow
  3. spring — of water
  4. club — a group
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. spring — a coil
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. club — for golf
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. degree — an amount
  14. capital — a city
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — what's left
  17. degree — temperature
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. scale — size or range
  21. capital — money
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. club — for dancing
  24. scale — in music

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