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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. spell — letters
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. staff — employees
  6. deal — to handle
  7. can — a tin
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. can — to be able to
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. game — a match
  14. spell — magic
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spell — a short time
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. can — a tin
  22. staff — a stick
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. staff — employees

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