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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — for pool
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. spell — magic
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. march — the month
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. march — the month
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cue — a signal
  19. spell — letters
  20. wax — to grow
  21. march — music
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bowl — to roll

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