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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pop — music
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. last — finally
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pop — to visit
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. last — final
  14. deal — to handle
  15. ground — a position
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. spring — the season
  21. ground — crushed
  22. last — to go on
  23. pop — soda
  24. pitcher — a jug

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