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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — magic
  4. wax — to grow
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. game — wild animals
  7. plane — a tool
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — a face
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. hand — help
  16. spell — letters
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. hand — in cards
  22. game — a match
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. plane — in geometry

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