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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  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. deal — an agreement
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. season — in sport
  10. board — a committee
  11. lean — thin
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. season — of the year
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spell — magic
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. board — to get on
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  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