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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bark — to shout
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. spell — a short time
  21. field — a subject
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. spell — magic

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