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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ground — a position
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. spring — the season
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. fall — the season
  12. season — of the year
  13. spring — of water
  14. season — in sport
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fall — to drop
  24. ground — crushed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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