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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: cue · spell · saw · rest · wax · bat · bay · cold

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spell — magic
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spell — letters
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cue — a hint
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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