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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. bound — obliged
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. shower — rain
  7. key — the most important part
  8. file — a document
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. band — a music group
  12. pitch — completely
  13. shower — to wash
  14. band — a ring
  15. key — for a lock
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wax — to grow
  18. file — a line of people
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. key — in music
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. file — a tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bound — certain

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