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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. spell — magic
  3. spring — the season
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spell — a short time
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. board — a committee
  10. spring — a coil
  11. board — to get on
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. spring — of water
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spell — letters
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bass — low music
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wax — for sculpting

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