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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. suit — clothes
  3. mark — a trace
  4. date — the fruit
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. suit — to fit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. suit — in cards
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. spell — letters
  13. mark — a grade
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. band — a ring
  18. spell — a short time
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wax — to grow
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. kid — child
  23. band — a music group
  24. wax — in the ear

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