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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 124 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 like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. spring — of water
  3. snap — to click
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tube — a container
  7. spring — the season
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. capital — money
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wound — an injury
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tube — the underground
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. spring — a coil
  24. capital — a city

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