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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spell — a short time
  5. ground — a position
  6. band — a ring
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. band — a music group
  11. spell — letters
  12. bear — the animal
  13. club — for golf
  14. ground — crushed
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wake — a trail
  20. club — a group
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spell — magic
  23. bear — the animal
  24. club — for dancing

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