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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 116 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — for sport
  4. spell — a short time
  5. court — of law
  6. object — to protest
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pass — a permit
  13. court — of a king
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. net — for catching
  19. wind — moving air
  20. object — an aim
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cold — an illness
  23. net — after costs
  24. object — a thing

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