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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. wax — to grow
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. rush — hurry
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. court — of a king
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. club — for dancing
  13. court — of law
  14. club — a group
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stem — to come from
  19. club — for golf
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fall — the season
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. fall — to drop
  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