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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. spell — letters
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cold — not warm
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ball — a great time
  16. spell — magic
  17. board — a committee
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wax — to grow
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spell — a short time

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