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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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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — music
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. march — the month
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cue — for pool
  10. last — final
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cap — a lid
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cue — a signal
  15. wax — to grow
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cue — a hint
  18. march — the month
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. last — finally
  22. cap — a hat
  23. last — to go on
  24. trunk — of a tree

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