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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lean — thin
  4. fine — all right
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. spring — the season
  7. file — a document
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bass — low music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spring — of water
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. wax — to grow
  16. fine — high quality
  17. net — after costs
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. file — a tool
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. racket — a loud noise

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