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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. rash — a series
  10. pass — a permit
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. spring — the season
  15. mine — for digging
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wax — to grow
  20. spring — of water
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mine — belonging to me

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