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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. ball — a dance
  4. drill — the tool
  5. spell — magic
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. rock — a stone
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lie — to recline
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rock — music
  16. spell — letters
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — army training
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. chest — a box

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