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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bank — of a river
  4. key — for a lock
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bank — for money
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spring — of water
  15. spell — letters
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. perch — the fish
  20. key — in music
  21. bank — for money
  22. spell — magic
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. key — the most important part

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