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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 120 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pitch — completely
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. spell — magic
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spell — letters
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. rush — hurry
  16. season — of the year
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. season — in sport
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. cell — in biology
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pitch — a sports field

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