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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. spell — magic
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mug — a face
  5. lean — thin
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spell — letters
  14. mark — a grade
  15. spell — a short time
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mug — to rob

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