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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.

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

Word bank: foot · wind · wax · drill · spell · mouse · fork · firm

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. firm — a company
  3. spell — letters
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. spell — a short time
  8. wind — moving air
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. firm — steady
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. spell — magic
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wax — to grow
  17. firm — decided
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. fork — in a road
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. drill — the tool
  22. foot — a measure
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. drill — army training

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