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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. court — of a king
  3. wound — an injury
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — to grow
  8. key — in music
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. court — of law
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — magic
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. date — the fruit
  16. snap — to click
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — for sport
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. prune — to trim

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