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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 124 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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. wax — to grow
  3. spring — the season
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. staff — employees
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. staff — a stick
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. staff — employees
  23. dip — to sink
  24. spring — of water

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