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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 116 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. spell — magic
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — letters
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. kid — child
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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