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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spell — a short time
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — army training
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. season — of the year
  9. stock — goods
  10. drill — the tool
  11. stock — shares
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. spell — letters
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. spell — magic

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