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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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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: chest · dip · craft · pit · spell · wax · mark · current

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. spell — letters
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mark — a trace
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. spell — magic
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. craft — boats
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pit — a hole
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chest — a box
  19. pit — in a race
  20. current — electric
  21. chest — of your body
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. mark — a grade

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