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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 116 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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. rash — a series
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — magic
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kid — child
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. hand — help

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