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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. spell — magic
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cell — in biology
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. swing — to play on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bat — in an idiom
  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