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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. club — a group
  6. march — the month
  7. club — for golf
  8. net — for catching
  9. club — for dancing
  10. net — in sport
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. net — after costs
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. row — a line
  17. march — music
  18. patient — a sick person

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