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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.

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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: bear · tear · spell · wax · kid · net · row · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. net — for catching
  4. spell — magic
  5. net — in sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. spell — letters
  8. club — a group
  9. kid — child
  10. bear — the animal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bear — the animal
  13. row — a line
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kid — to tease
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. net — after costs

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