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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. spell — magic
  3. club — for dancing
  4. craft — a skill
  5. spell — a short time
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. club — a group
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wax — to grow
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. club — for golf
  12. object — a thing
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. land — a country
  15. object — to protest
  16. spell — letters
  17. game — a match
  18. land — to come down
  19. game — wild animals
  20. land — ground
  21. craft — boats
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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