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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. ground — a position
  4. kick — in football
  5. cell — in biology
  6. court — of a king
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. court — for sport
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bulb — for light
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bulb — for light
  14. vault — a safe
  15. spell — a short time
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. court — of law
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cell — a phone

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