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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. land — to come down
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spring — the season
  9. hand — help
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wake — a trail
  17. tube — the underground
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. land — ground
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tube — a container

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