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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. land — to come down
  3. track — a path
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. land — a country
  7. mug — a face
  8. bound — certain
  9. land — ground
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. track — a song
  12. spell — magic
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bound — tied together
  15. staff — employees
  16. mug — a cup
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. staff — employees
  20. bound — obliged
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bat — the animal
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wax — to grow

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