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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hand — help
  8. fine — all right
  9. spring — the season
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. club — a group
  12. spring — of water
  13. wax — to grow
  14. club — for dancing
  15. fine — high quality
  16. club — for golf
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. capital — money
  20. spell — magic
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. capital — a city

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