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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. wax — to grow
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. spring — the season
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. craft — a skill
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. drill — army training
  18. craft — boats
  19. court — for sport
  20. face — to confront
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — part of the head
  24. drill — a practice

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