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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wax — to grow
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. snap — to click
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bark — to shout
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. vault — a safe
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. spell — magic
  15. march — music
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wound — an injury
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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