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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. chest — a box
  6. cap — of ice
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. suit — to fit
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. court — for sport
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. suit — in cards
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wake — a trail
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spell — letters
  20. court — of a king
  21. chest — of your body
  22. suit — clothes
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — of your body

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