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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. last — final
  4. wax — to grow
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. vault — a safe
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. last — to go on
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. band — a music group
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. last — finally
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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