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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.

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: wax · leaves · spell · key · race · squash · content · bat

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. spell — magic
  4. race — humankind
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. squash — to crush
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. key — in music
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bat — the animal
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. content — the amount
  15. race — the arms race
  16. key — for a lock
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. content — happy
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. key — the most important part
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spell — letters

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