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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. spell — letters
  7. face — to confront
  8. season — of the year
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. spell — a short time
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. face — part of the head
  13. capital — a city
  14. kick — in football
  15. wax — to grow
  16. capital — money
  17. season — in sport
  18. face — to point toward

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