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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. spell — letters
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. pop — music
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tube — a container
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hand — help
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pop — soda
  20. spell — magic
  21. tube — the underground
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bat — in an idiom

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