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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. shower — rain
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — a short time
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bulb — for light
  18. last — final
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. spell — letters

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