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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. bark — to shout
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. spring — of water
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  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