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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fine — all right
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spring — the season
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. fine — high quality
  11. spring — of water
  12. hand — help
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cap — a hat
  20. hand — in cards
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. root — of a plant

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