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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. spell — magic
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. cold — an illness
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spell — a short time
  21. cold — not warm
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spell — letters
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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