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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. spell — letters
  2. chip — for betting
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wind — moving air
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. key — in music
  9. wax — to grow
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stem — to come from
  18. track — a song
  19. row — a line
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. track — a path
  23. stem — of a plant
  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