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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. net — in sport
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — letters
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. court — for sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. shower — rain
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wake — a trail
  16. court — of a king
  17. spell — magic
  18. net — after costs
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. file — a line of people
  21. court — of law
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. file — a document
  24. shower — to wash

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