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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spell — magic
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. file — a tool
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. board — to get on
  15. spell — letters
  16. file — a document
  17. wind — moving air
  18. board — a committee
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. file — a line of people

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