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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wake — a trail
  5. present — there
  6. cold — an illness
  7. present — the time now
  8. face — to point toward
  9. spell — letters
  10. face — part of the head
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. face — to confront
  14. present — a gift
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mug — to rob
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spell — magic
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. row — a quarrel

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