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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spell — letters
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. race — a contest
  14. fall — the season
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wax — to grow
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spell — magic
  19. race — humankind
  20. fall — to drop
  21. kid — child
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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