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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 120 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — music
  3. spell — a short time
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spell — magic
  6. cue — for pool
  7. march — the month
  8. foot — a measure
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. cue — a hint
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. march — the month
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. ball — a great time
  18. spell — letters
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cue — a signal
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. ball — a dance
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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