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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. mark — a trace
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. can — a tin
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mark — a grade
  12. can — a tin
  13. game — wild animals
  14. can — to be able to
  15. game — a match
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wake — a trail
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. spring — of water
  23. fall — the season
  24. spring — the season

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