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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. chest — a box
  4. spring — of water
  5. spell — magic
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. current — happening now
  8. spring — the season
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. current — of water
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spell — letters
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spell — a short time
  24. current — electric

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