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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. row — to paddle
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. row — a line
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. spell — magic
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wake — a trail
  22. sharp — clever
  23. shower — to wash
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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