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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. wax — to grow
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. spring — the season
  12. rest — a break
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ground — a position
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. chair — a leader
  23. field — a subject
  24. bowl — to roll

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