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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. key — the most important part
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. key — in music
  11. bear — the animal
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. row — a line
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. spell — magic
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spell — letters
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. row — to paddle

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