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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spell — letters
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. object — a thing
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wax — to grow
  11. spell — magic
  12. hand — in cards
  13. cold — an illness
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. hand — help
  16. object — to protest
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spell — a short time
  22. object — an aim
  23. rest — a break
  24. rest — what's left

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