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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — in control
  7. spring — of water
  8. club — for golf
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wax — to grow
  12. content — the amount
  13. rash — hasty
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rash — a series
  17. charge — a price
  18. content — happy
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. spring — the season
  24. club — a group

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