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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hand — help
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. last — finally
  8. rest — what's left
  9. staff — a stick
  10. last — final
  11. drill — army training
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. staff — employees
  14. board — a committee
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. drill — a practice
  17. board — to get on
  18. drill — the tool
  19. staff — employees
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spell — magic
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. spell — a short time
  24. wax — in the ear

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