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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. shower — to wash
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — a coil
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. spell — letters
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spring — the season
  19. shower — rain
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. spring — of water
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. perch — the fish
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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