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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. spell — letters
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chest — a box
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. face — part of the head
  14. chest — of your body
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. pass — a permit
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. craft — a skill
  20. face — to confront
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. craft — boats
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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