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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chest — a box
  5. spell — magic
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spell — letters
  8. suit — clothes
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. suit — in cards
  11. spell — a short time
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bore — to tire
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. suit — to fit
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bear — the animal

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