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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 124 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. sharp — clever
  5. game — a match
  6. bound — certain
  7. spell — letters
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. dip — to sink
  15. ball — a dance
  16. spell — a short time
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bound — tied together
  22. spell — magic
  23. bound — obliged
  24. dip — to dunk

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