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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. saw — the tool
  3. land — ground
  4. saw — the tool
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — magic
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. march — music
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. land — a country
  15. march — the month
  16. land — to come down
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. spell — letters
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. march — the month
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. wax — to grow
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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