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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. present — a gift
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. wax — to grow
  5. march — the month
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. track — to keep track
  8. march — music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. track — a song
  11. wind — moving air
  12. game — wild animals
  13. present — there
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. lean — thin
  18. present — the time now
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. track — a path
  22. march — the month
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. lean — to bend

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