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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. sharp — clever
  3. rest — a break
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spell — magic
  7. drill — army training
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. track — a path
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — letters
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. track — a song
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — for baseball

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