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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. rest — a break
  3. field — a subject
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. field — for sport
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cold — an illness
  14. field — farmland
  15. spell — a short time
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. spell — letters
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. wax — to grow
  21. rest — what's left
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. nail — on a finger

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