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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — letters
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. game — a match
  7. drill — the tool
  8. ball — a dance
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. drill — army training
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. spell — magic
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wake — a trail
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. lean — thin
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. lean — to bend

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