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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. spell — magic
  3. ground — a position
  4. dip — to sink
  5. ground — the earth
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. chest — of your body
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chest — a box
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — letters
  19. fork — in a road
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. calf — a young animal

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