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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. staff — a stick
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pop — music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. spell — letters
  8. staff — employees
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wax — to grow
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. pop — to visit
  13. key — the most important part
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pop — soda
  16. bore — to drill
  17. key — in music
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spell — magic
  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