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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kid — to tease
  3. present — the time now
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. kid — child
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — the animal
  10. rash — a series
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bear — the animal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. present — a gift
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. spell — letters
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. ball — a dance
  21. present — there
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. ball — a round shape

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