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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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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cue — a hint
  7. scale — in music
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cue — a signal
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pass — a permit
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. mine — for digging
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cue — for pool

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