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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. cue — for pool
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. file — a document
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. spring — the season
  13. spell — letters
  14. shower — rain
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. spell — a short time
  18. fork — in a road
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. spring — of water
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spell — magic
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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