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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. deal — to handle
  3. chest — of your body
  4. present — a gift
  5. spell — magic
  6. tear — to rip
  7. present — the time now
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. cold — an illness
  11. court — for sport
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. spell — a short time
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. present — there
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chest — a box
  22. wax — to grow
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. spell — letters

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