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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — a trace
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. march — the month
  21. pass — a permit
  22. mark — a grade
  23. game — a match
  24. march — music

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