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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · firm · wax · roll · hand · spring · pitch · tear

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wax — to grow
  6. firm — a company
  7. hand — help
  8. cell — a phone
  9. roll — a list
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. firm — decided
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cell — in biology
  19. firm — steady
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tear — from crying
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. tear — to rip

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