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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. kick — in football
  3. can — a tin
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. can — to be able to
  6. scale — size or range
  7. object — to protest
  8. rush — hurry
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. object — an aim
  13. scale — in music
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spell — a short time
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. spell — magic
  19. can — a tin
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. object — a thing
  23. squash — to crush
  24. scale — for weighing

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