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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. spell — letters
  6. kid — child
  7. spell — magic
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kick — in football
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kid — to tease
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — a measure
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spell — a short time

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