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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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Word bank
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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. drill — army training
  3. spell — magic
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. clip — a video
  7. cell — a phone
  8. drill — the tool
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. spell — a short time
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pass — a permit
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. court — for sport
  17. wax — to grow
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cell — in biology
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cell — in a prison

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