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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: lean · bowl · wax · ground · spring · chest · craft · ball

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. spring — the season
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. lean — thin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. ground — the earth
  11. craft — boats
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. ground — crushed
  14. chest — a box
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. craft — a skill
  23. spring — of water
  24. ball — a round shape

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