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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. spring — the season
  8. band — a ring
  9. craft — a skill
  10. spring — of water
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wax — to grow
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. craft — boats
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pit — in a race
  19. spring — a coil
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cap — a lid
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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