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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
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: date · key · perch · hand · wax · wind · spell · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wind — moving air
  4. key — in music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hand — in cards
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. key — for a lock
  13. hand — help
  14. spell — letters
  15. perch — the fish
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spell — magic
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. key — the most important part
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. date — the fruit
  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