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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: wax · hand · mate · spell · court · pound · squash · lean

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spell — magic
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pound — a weight
  5. squash — to crush
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. court — of law
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lean — thin
  10. mate — to breed
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. wax — to grow
  13. hand — help
  14. lean — to bend
  15. spell — letters
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. court — of a king
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. court — for sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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