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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. tube — a container
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kid — child
  5. mug — to rob
  6. wax — to grow
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. tube — the underground
  10. kid — to tease
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. net — in sport
  18. hand — help
  19. net — after costs
  20. mug — a cup
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mug — a face
  23. net — for catching
  24. spell — letters

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