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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — to protest
  6. spring — of water
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. staff — employees
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cold — an illness
  15. object — a thing
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — the season
  22. staff — a stick
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. lie — an untruth

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