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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wax — to grow
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. key — for a lock
  8. spring — the season
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rash — a series
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. rash — hasty
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bank — of a river
  18. lean — thin
  19. key — in music
  20. shower — rain
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bank — for money
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bank — for money

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