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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. suit — in cards
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. suit — to fit
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. march — the month
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. plane — a tool
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. suit — clothes
  16. squash — the sport
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spell — a short time

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