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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. spell — letters
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rash — a series
  7. pop — to visit
  8. spell — magic
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pop — soda
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pop — music
  18. shower — rain
  19. rash — hasty
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. season — in sport
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rash — on the skin

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