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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. spell — a short time
  3. track — a song
  4. scale — size or range
  5. rest — a break
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rash — a series
  10. spell — magic
  11. kid — child
  12. wake — a trail
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rest — what's left
  16. track — to keep track
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. track — a path
  19. wax — to grow
  20. spell — letters
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. scale — in music
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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