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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. hand — help
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spell — magic
  7. rule — a law
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wind — moving air
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. spell — letters
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. wind — to turn a key

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