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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spring — the season
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. spring — of water
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spell — magic
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. spell — letters
  21. game — a match
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. sharp — with an edge

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