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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. field — for sport
  3. spell — magic
  4. hand — in cards
  5. field — a subject
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — help
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. bore — to drill
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. field — farmland
  14. spell — letters
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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