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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. snap — to click
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. key — in music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. key — the most important part
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. hand — help
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — for a lock
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spell — letters
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cap — a lid

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