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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. file — a tool
  5. content — happy
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. drill — the tool
  8. file — a document
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. squash — the sport
  15. fork — in a road
  16. file — a line of people
  17. spell — a short time
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. squash — to crush

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