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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 120 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: arm · swing · wax · squash · shower · mark · plane · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mark — a grade
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spell — magic
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. swing — music
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wax — to grow
  12. shower — rain
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. plane — a tool
  16. squash — to crush
  17. shower — to wash
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spell — a short time
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. plane — an aircraft

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