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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. roll — a cake
  4. row — a line
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spell — letters
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. spell — magic
  13. saw — the tool
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mate — a partner
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. pound — a weight
  20. saw — the tool
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mate — a friend
  24. roll — a list

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