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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. drill — a practice
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — magic
  9. drill — army training
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. spell — a short time
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. key — in music
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. date — the fruit
  24. wax — to grow

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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