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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. land — a country
  3. spell — magic
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. spell — letters
  6. suit — to fit
  7. bear — the animal
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — in cards
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. spell — a short time
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. land — ground
  23. land — to come down
  24. wax — for sculpting

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