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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — a short time
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. spell — magic
  16. mate — to breed
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mate — a partner
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mark — a grade

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