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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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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 · craft · hand · roll · scale · bear · wax · cold

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bear — the animal
  5. scale — in music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. hand — help
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — a skill
  12. spell — magic
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cold — not warm
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — a short time
  17. craft — boats
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. roll — a cake
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bear — the animal
  22. roll — a list
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — to grow

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