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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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 — letters
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mug — a face
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wax — to grow
  9. mug — to rob
  10. game — wild animals
  11. present — the time now
  12. pitch — completely
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. present — a gift
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mug — a cup
  18. game — a match
  19. present — there
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. spell — magic
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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