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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. spell — letters
  3. spring — a coil
  4. row — to paddle
  5. fine — all right
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. date — the fruit
  10. toast — bread
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. spring — of water
  16. row — a line
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fine — high quality
  20. spring — the season
  21. wound — an injury
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spell — magic
  24. fine — a penalty

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