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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cell — in biology
  9. spring — the season
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. season — in sport
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. spring — of water
  19. season — of the year
  20. mug — to rob
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cell — a phone
  24. club — for dancing

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