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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. lie — to recline
  7. wax — to grow
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. perch — the fish
  10. cue — for pool
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. cue — a hint
  14. spell — letters
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. field — a subject
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spell — a short time

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