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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. snap — to click
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. fine — all right
  10. hand — help
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wax — to grow
  13. march — the month
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fine — high quality
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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