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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. spell — letters
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. sharp — clever
  9. spell — magic
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. tube — a container
  19. spell — a short time
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. tube — the underground
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — the Cold War

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