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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. firm — decided
  3. field — for sport
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — steady
  9. field — a subject
  10. spell — a short time
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — farmland
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spell — magic
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lie — an untruth

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