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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. chair — a leader
  4. deal — to handle
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. drill — army training
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. spell — a short time
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rock — music
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spell — magic
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rock — a stone

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