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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rule · bat · straw · pop · spell · wax · present · field

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. present — there
  4. pop — soda
  5. field — for sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. present — a gift
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rule — a law
  13. field — a subject
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rule — government
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. field — farmland
  20. bat — the animal
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. present — the time now
  24. bat — for baseball

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