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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. spell — magic
  3. fork — in a road
  4. face — part of the head
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. spell — letters
  10. game — a match
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. face — to confront
  15. cell — in biology
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cell — a phone
  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