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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bulb — for light
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. content — the amount
  16. wax — to grow
  17. squash — to crush
  18. kid — child
  19. rush — hurry
  20. content — happy
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. squash — the sport

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