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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · present · chest · net · wax · hide

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. spell — letters
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. net — in sport
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wax — to grow
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. present — the time now
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. chest — of your body

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