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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. game — a match
  3. track — a song
  4. rest — a break
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. hand — help
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spell — letters
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. hand — in cards
  21. track — a path
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wax — for sculpting

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