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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wax — to grow
  3. band — a music group
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stem — to come from
  6. charge — a price
  7. drill — a practice
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. drill — army training
  11. charge — in control
  12. can — to be able to
  13. scale — size or range
  14. can — a tin
  15. drill — the tool
  16. charge — electricity
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. band — a ring
  19. scale — in music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. can — a tin
  24. spring — of water

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