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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. spell — letters
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. kid — child
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. spell — a short time
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wax — to grow

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