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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cell — a phone
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. track — a path
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. track — to keep track
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. wound — an injury
  13. date — the fruit
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pitch — completely
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. track — a song
  24. spell — magic

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