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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bear — the animal
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bound — tied together
  5. spell — magic
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. degree — from a university
  8. staff — employees
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. spell — letters
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. staff — employees
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bound — certain
  19. staff — a stick
  20. fall — to drop
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bound — obliged
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fall — the season

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